


Mass Dragon Effect I: Shadows of the Past

by raw666



Series: Mass Dragon Effect [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alien/Human Relationships, Alternate Universe, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, Drama, Elf/Human Relationship(s), F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Outer Space, Possible Character Death, Relationship(s), Romance, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Marines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2019-05-05 13:11:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 114,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14619270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raw666/pseuds/raw666
Summary: After humanity's discovery of dilithium crystals and later the darkspawn, technology began to change for the Mass Effect Universe drastically. From space exploration to alliance that rivals the Council, the galaxy has entered into a new golden era. Will it be enough for John and Jane Shepard to stop the cycle of extinction or will Saren succeed in bringing back the Reapers?Originally a Fanfiction.net story.





	1. The Nominated SPECTRE

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Mass Dragon Effect I: Shadows of the Past](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/380679) by RAW666. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or Mass Effect, as they both belong to Bioware and they have the copyrights for them. In addition, on writing style, please look in Author Notes B for details.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/04/2018  
> 

**Location: Undisclosed**

**Human Date: February 1, 2183**

In a dimly lit room, a holographic conference call was taking place that spanned thousands of light years between the various participants that included four different species. The two initiating the call were Donnel Udina, and Nakmor Utag, a human and an alien species that is known as a krogan. Both of which serve as the primary ambassadors for their organization, the Confederation Alliance of Worlds (CAW). The human was an old, thin man with a small chin and wrinkled box-like face that made a perfect poker face that hides his the calculating, brownish grey eyes.

The krogan was like others of his kind, a massive, warm-blooded brown reptile with short, stubby tail, legs, and hands with three short digits, along with natural shell armor that continually grows along their back, chest, thighs, arms, and a distinct hump that stored enough nutrients to last them weeks. The krogan ambassador though stood out from other krogans by wearing clothing instead of body armor over his natural shell armor. He was also unique in that he had a red, three-point smooth shell with spots along the shell edge. He stood proud, as his green predator (vertically slit pupil) eyes, did not flinch, as he stood there, unafraid as their superiors stared him and his fellow ambassador down.

His superior and President of CAW was a female quarian, a purple skin species that looked remarkably human, especially since quarians have similar gender-based body structure and hair which she kept short and tied into a bun. She looked remarkably human if not for her three-digit fingers and, her limbs being able to bend in ways humans could not bend. Quarian legs resembled those found on Earth's dogs. Her eyes seemed to have no irises as both her pupils were a pale silver color dignified by the two slanted creases above her eyebrows.

Her airtight suit wrapped in a purple cloth gave warning lights as she let out an agitated sigh on her thin face that showed her age, "Ambassador Nakmor Utag, Ambassador Donnel Udina, what does the Citadel Council want with our government now? We already agreed to share and retrieve the Pro-classified device we found on the colony world of Eden Prime in the Exodus Cluster. What more do they want?"

The krogan, Ambassador Nakmor Utag stood tall as he stated, "President Shala'Raan, the Citadel Council has requested that we consider one of our own to become a member of the Council's elite black ops, the SPECTREs while allowing one of their current SPECTREs to act as a representative for joint operations."

The announcement sent a series of grumbling conservations to pass among the listeners, as a tall, dark-skinned human looked thoughtful in his black and white uniform. A uniform that had the insignia of Rear Admiral (three gold stripes with two silver stripes) on his shoulder pads and sleeves. "I can figure where this is going, he commented The Council wants us to consider one of its members for our elite special forces under my command. It would be the only reason you contacted me during another operation we are handling in the Exodus Cluster."

"Yes… the Council wants to extend their influence into the Confederation Alliance of Worlds by taking one of our elite soldiers to order around while dictating what they want through an operative assign to 'work' with the First Battalion," Ambassador Udina scolded at he voiced his own, angry thoughts.

"Or just to improve relationships, just a thought," Ambassador Utag joked to his fellow ambassador, who frowned in response.

"And while we're on the subject of the First Battalion. Mind telling me what operation Rear Admiral David Anderson was conducting in one of the most densely populated clusters in the Confederation's Space and one that holds some of my people's oldest colonies?" Udina asked with a growl.

Anderson stared at his superiors, Grand Admiral Steven Hackett, the commander of the Confederation military to ask if he should speak up. Never was a man more fit to wear the rank of Fleet Admiral (five gold stripes and four silver stripes), or looked the role better with his short white hair, cleanly cut beard, and firm body. Even his elected superior President Shala'Raan felt the power that seemed to radiate from his small, steely blue eyes as he spoke in a firm, scratchy voice that belongs to a man in his seventies.

He also respected the chain of command as he did not speak until after he received a nod from the president for permission to speak, "At three hundred hours, Confederation Standard Time, we received a distress call from Asteroid X57. An asteroid we planned to put in orbit around Terra Nova to mine and eventually turn it into a space station to defend the planet. However, batarian extremists had somehow captured three of our freighters to bypass the CRF (Confederate Recon Force) patrols along our borders to take over the asteroid and planned to crash it into Terra Nova. I just found out about it a couple of hours ago."

"Is Terra Nova in danger Grand Admiral Hackett? And should I prepare for the appropriate response?" Udina asked with a scowl at being kept in the dark.

"It never was," Hackett shook his head. "Our defense forces stationed at Terra Nova and the planetary defense grid would have destroyed the asteroid if it was a threat."

"Needless to say, the plan was never going to work, and we don't even need to destroy the asteroid as my teams on the surface have already taken control of the three Fusion Troches propelling the asteroid to prevent it from crashing into Terra Nova. It is why I am here now informing you of the threat instead of letting my communication expert handle this call," David Anderson explained to the ambassador before he turned to one of his comrades. "If we're lucky, we can snag a lot of them for the CID (Confederation Intelligence Division) to interrogate."

"Especially as the commander of the region is sending his forces around the cluster to capture any that tries to escape to hand them over to Chief Operative Legion's Shadow," Hackett explained to the same comrade that was not organic.

Legion's Shadow was a geth, a black robot that resembled their creators the quarians, but with a single glowing blue eye and as an extra addition to its model, a large antenna/mainframe shaped structure coming off the right side of its back. A unique Legion model that spoke in a mechanical voice that seemed to have clicks embedded in its voice. "This Unit thanks you Hackett-Grand-Admiral. The Confederation Collective needs to find out exactly how they found out that Asteroid designated X-57 was being moved to Terra Nova from its location in the Exodus's Asgard System." The machine looked annoyed as its eye twisted and its frame flexed. "While the information was not classified, it was not broadcast on civilian channels. So, either the batarians found a way to listen to our military communications, or someone with access told them."

This made the taller than average krogan (over 2m) snort as he stared with his amused red eyes. A strong character that had scars along the right side his face and along with his thick, red and purplish-black head plate shell that had two sets of seven points, which showed he had lived longer than his average krogan. Most krogans do not live past fifty due to their violent tendency. However, the few that do make it past that age are likely to make it to a thousand, and the Supreme Commander of the Krogan Clan Alliance was a very old and powerful krogan.

"Well besides hearing about conspiracies and how much the batarians have failed, why don't we get back to the fact the high and mighty Council wants one of their members on the First Battalion," the krogan pointed out before he asked what was on everyone's mind. "Who is the brains behind this suggestion?"

Udina scolded as he stated, "Several SPECTREs led by a turian who would evaluate the candidate, Nihlus Kryik, Supreme Commander Urdnot Wrex."

"A turian?" Wrex asked with a raised eyebrow. "That's a surprise considering the turians are not exactly the best of friends for any of us. After all, they did release the Salarian's Genophage on my own people, slowly killing us off by lowering our fertility rate, which would have done us in if the Human System Alliance of old hadn't developed the Genofertilization accidentally. Not to mention that many of their people, especially the more militant ones, are not too happy we built a separate military force from the Citadel Council."

"Are you saying that the turians are just making the offer to screw with us and make us look bad?" asked Ambassador Nakmor.

Wrex laughed as he smiled, "Depends on the turian."

"I know Nihlus; he's an honorable turian who respects the Confederation's independence, especially if the friendly rivalry increases the military strength on both sides," Anderson explained. "He also thinks our race will eventually return to the Council, with the other three races tagging along."

"So that is probably why he suggested it. As a way to build trust to get us all back under the Council's control," Shala'Raan stated with a nod.

"Enough of this talk about who is asking this favor!" Udina flared with his legendary temper. "The Council wants our answer by the end of the day, and if we agree to meet up with Nihlus for a joint operation to retrieve… the object on Eden Prime," Udina added with disdain at the fact the Confederation was sharing custody with the Council.

The others began to mutter what they thought until Hackett spoke up, "I believe we should consider the offer as it would improve our sometimes strained relationship with the Council. Especially since despite the buildup of our military and political power, we could still be overwhelmed by the Council if war was declared."

"This unit's predicts a ten percent chance of complete victory. Ten percent we surrender to the Council if war breaks out. Twenty percent chance we gain sizable territory. Twenty-five percent no one gains anything. And a thirty-five percent chance we lose territory, assuming nothing goes wrong on our side, or the Council follows traditional tactics," Legion's Shadow explained. "Also assuming that the various warlords of the Terminus Systems will remain neutral and do not attack the Council or more likely the unit's closes neighbor, the Confederation if war does happen."

"Well with that cheery thought aside, I, President Shala'Raan, have come to a decision. I agree to the Council's terms for a better alliance between our two governments." Shala'Raan sighed with a possible headache this would cause. "I'll inform the Senate of the decision while I leave you all to pick our candidate. Good luck, Shala'Raan out."

Shala'Raan's image disappeared while those remaining online looked over the list of candidates. There were dozens of them picked from all four founding races, which was unusual since the Council was highly xenophobia when it comes to AIs.

Eventually, Ambassador Nakmor finally pulled out one candidate to consider, "What about Commander Jane Shepard. She's a human spacer. She has lived aboard starships most of her life."

"Military service is in her family. Both her parents and her brother are in the Navy," Anderson nodded in agreement.

"And she knows how rough the galaxy can be when her old man was killed on Mindoir during a cowardly attack by Batarian backed slavers," Wrex stated with a snarl.

"She proved herself during the Skyllian Blitz. Able to rally the populous and hold off enemy forces until reinforcements arrive on the ground," Hackett stated with a smile.

Anderson nodded as he added, "She was one of two reasons that Elysium is still standing."

"And later she was able to kill a Thresher Maw when it ambushed her unit on Akuze," Ambassador Nakmor added.

Wrex laughed as he added, "Which is impressive as she killed the thing on foot. I can tell you from experience that it is a very difficult thing to pull off."

"Yet losing most of a unit's collective subordinates could have severed physiological effects on the organic unit," Legion's Shadow pointed out.

"Jane Shepard is a survivor, and from what I've seen, the attack made her stronger and care more for the life of her men and the civilians she was protecting," Anderson quickly added to defend one of his officers.

"I'm sure she is a good choice, but she is not the only Shepard to consider," Udina pointed out. "One Captain John Shepard, your current XO is another consideration. He was the brains behind Elysium's defense, and he led the victory on Torfan by destroying most of the Batarian backed pirates on the planet."

"It may be true he is a brilliant strategist. But he's also very ruthless and is less willing to work with the Council Races than Jane is," Anderson pointed out before he smiled. "Though he would make a good liaison for Jane and it is time for him to have his own command as Eliza and I did plan to transfer over to _CSS Waterloo_."

Udina looked unsure before adding, "I can't question your logic or Jane's courage."

"The Confederation Alliance of Worlds needs a hero, and Jane is the best we got," Anderson said with conviction.

Udina sighed while he looked at his fellow ambassador, "We'll make the call."

Hackett nodded as he typed in the coordinates, "Anderson, I want you to meet with the SPECTRE at these coordinates in a nearby cluster outside restricted Confederation space. You can get there without hitting a Mass Relay, and due to the secrecy of the mission, I request you do so."

"Yes Admiral, we'll take care of it," the Ambassadors and Anderson nodded in agreement.

"Well, I'll get everything ready on Eden Prime," Wrex smiled in amusement. "The sooner we get the artifact off-world, the sooner we can have the Unification Celebrations, Supreme Commander Urdnot Wrex out."

The others followed suit, leaving Anderson alone in the Quantum Entanglement Communication (QEC) room before he walked out into the war room. In the room stood a species known as qunari, a species that resembled a barrel-chested human, except that females had curly horns on their head and were a bit taller than the average human female with ashen skin that seemed to glow an ivory color. This female qunari, in particular, had purple eyes that were doing her job of observing the various communication channels in the system as she pulled back her long, died brown hair away from her face before she turned towards her superior officer.

"Operations Chief Sarah Sinclair, when the mission is done on Asteroid X57, I want you to call Jane and John back on the _Normandy_. Tell them to report back on this ship for their next assignment," Anderson stated.

"Yes sir," Sinclair immediately saluted as she went back to work as two holograms appeared in front of Anderson.

Both holograms resembled beautiful woman that looked real, yet at the same time synthetic. The one staring at him was a purple woman with short hair and glowing reddish/purple eyes. She also wore a 'skimpy' military uniform version of shorts and vested uniform with Lieutenant 2nd Class sigma of most communication and navigation officers (a stripe with a triple dash stripe, both silver).

She smiled as she asked, "Hay-ya Admiral. What do you need us lonely ladies to do?"

Anderson smiled as he typed in the coordinates before he looked at the AI, "Cortona, I need to give these coordinates to Joker and tell him to set a course. I want to be there once our people return home."

"Aye, aye, boss man!"

Cortona smiled before she bleeped into another section of the ship leaving her fellow hologram to shake her head, "All these years I have been observing and teaching that AI, and I still have no idea where she gets her disrespect from."

The green hologram was different than her companion. She seemed strict in her military uniform and hair tied in a military type bun. Her blue eyes stared steadily ahead as she said, "I've heard the conversation you had with the Council."

"I figured as much," Anderson chuckled with a small smile. "You were never very good at keeping your holographic nose out of private meetings, Eliza."

"Oh please; you wanted me to listen. Otherwise, you would have activated the internal and external firewalls that can keep even the Salarian STG (Special Tasks Group) out," Lieutenant (two silver stripes) Eliza shrugged before she got serious. "I assume we will move to the _CSS Waterloo_ sooner than expected. You think John and Jane Shepard are ready?"

Anderson nodded as he spoke in a deep voice what he thought, "Yes, I think it's time to move on. John is ready to take command of his own ship, Jane is beginning to trust herself as a leader on the field, and both of them had learned everything they can from me. It's time for the next generation to take over."

"Damn, you make it sound like we are old, and I'm an AI that can live up to two centuries before I die due to software degeneration," Eliza mussed. "Though I see your point as I am sure Cortona feels the same way."

"That she does," Anderson smiled as he looked at the hologram. "Okay, now get me the ground teams' status reports. I want to know how much I missed while on the conference call."

"At once, Admiral," Eliza nodded before pulling up reports faster than any human could possibly match. Anderson was quickly brought up to speed while he watched video feeds of the ground team's progress.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Asteroid X-57 over Terra Nova/Outside Main Facility**

**Human Date: February 1, 2183**

On the airless surface of the asteroid, a large six-wheeled black and white vehicle was moving across the rocky field. The aeronautically slick, highly maneuverable, V-shaped vehicle avoided ruble and explosions, as it moved closer to its targets. Its thick armor was not even dented by the direct hit from a missile as its blue kinetic barrier shields flashed for a second as its large main cannon moved to open fire on the defenses of the batarian slavers. The batarian's small automated turrets and mines did not last long under the vehicle's secondary cannons fire with the occasional main cannon firing shells that exploded on impact, taking out its targets and anything nearby.

The last mine was destroyed when the tank drove over it, causing a minor hiccup to the occupants within the vehicle as the driver, a tall female human laughed in excitement as she straightened the vehicle's course. She held on tightly with as much strength as her athletic body could muster behind her black, airtight armor. Her open white robes flapped over her armor that had the green mage class patches and stripes over her small chest and right arm.

The driver, Jane Shepard, laughed as she turned her head across a neck colored with the red N7 logo to state to her gunner, "Looks like you missed one Kaidan. Good thing we were in the Mako instead of the Hammerhead, or they would be picking us up in pieces."

The gunner, Lieutenant 1st Class Kaidan Alenko, a short human in black, dull airtight armor held onto his gun joystick as he snorted out a response, "I'll be faster on the trigger next time Commander."

"Good, and Lieutenant, call me Jane or just Shepard. Commander makes me feel old," Commander Jane Shepard had ordered the older man in almost black armor that had no color except the blue stripe along the right arm to signify the biotic class and the small marking to signify his rank (two stripes, blue).

She could hear his smirk as he answered, "You got it, Commander."

Jane grumbled as she slowed the tank down in front of the fortress, taking note of the larger, more powerful guns and defense systems. "Legion-VII, are Confederation's bases defenses still deactivated."

"Affirmative, Sheppard-Commander," answered a blue and silver geth with a white eye, and the markings of Lieutenant 2nd Class and a yellow stripe across its right arm for technician class. The geth spoke in clicks that were synthetic as it typed away at a computer, "The batarian units have not been able to crack the Confederation's encryptions, and thus the systems are offline."

"Good as I don't want to test the M-35B's legendary toughness at this time," grunted a broad, yet very strong krogan in black and reddish-orange armor with an intimidating helmet that had a white krogan handprint over the facemask and a red stripe across his arm to signify a soldier class.

"I thought you loved explosions Trex," Kaidan joked from the gunner's seat as Trex sat behind Kaidan in a chair across from Legion-VII.

"I like explosions when our enemies are the ones exploding," Trex grunted behind his helmet. "I can tell you from personal experience that it's not fun to be the one exploding. It's excruciating."

"Well, looks like no one is going to explode today gentlemen we are here," Jane Shepard stated as she drove up to the entrance. "Legion-VII, would you be so kind as to unlock the door."

"I've been trying to Shepard-Commander," Legion-VII stated as his console lit up, exclaiming the door was jammed. "The batarians have obstructed the doors from opening."

"In other words, they've jammed them," Jane Shepard sighed as she turned the M-35B Mako to its side. "Trex, would you mind opening the doors the old fashion way."

Trex laughed as he took over the secondary firing control from the side of the Mako. At each side were plasma laser cannons shaped like orbs. The orbs began to glow before they unleashed a reddish-blue Confederation colored plasma beam that cut through the gates like butter and left a half oval mark on the gates. It took a split second after the cut for the vacuum of space to force the metal to bend open like a door as a turret of air escaped, allowing the marines from within the Mako to enter.

"Alright everyone out," Jane stated as she got up before she grabbed one of her three folded weapons on her back and hip.

The weapon she picked up was her M-15 Vindicator assault rifle, a fast pace assault rifle with standard attachments that enhance the weapons main features, add ammunition and conventional melee weapons like bayonets or weapon stunners. Jane was the last to step out, locking the Mako down as her four-man squad headed into the facility.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Asteroid X-57 over Terra Nova/Main Facility**

**Human Date: February 1, 2183**

Deep within the facility, the batarians barricaded themselves in an extensive arboretum. It was a large domed room with red cherry trees and four levels filled with scientific equipment and living agreements. All of which were patrolled by the batarians, a four-eyed alien with an arachnid-boney-like face without fangs but a mouth filled with teeth. Teeth the two guards flashed as they carried military-grade versions of standard weapons like the M-7 Lancers assault rifles and M-23 Katana shotguns. Weapons used to hold and guard against a dozen humans, two injured krogans and a single quarian locked behind a glass room.

"So, you hear the rumors that everyone outside is dead?" demanded one batarian in a deep-pitched batarian voice.

"It's just rumors started by the human upstarts to give hope to their pet brutes, suit rats, and their AIs," the batarian snarled at a defiant, female human with short brown hair. "Just because they have introduced their fancy new technology to the galaxy, they think they can rule us all by surrounding themselves with the outcasts of the galaxy."

"The only outcasts are you batarians," the woman with defiant blue eyes said back to the batarian. "And when your people die, no one will cry, but celebrate that the biggest blight, outside of the darkspawn, are gone."

"Shut up you bitch," the guard with the shotgun growled as he moved towards the door. "Maybe I should teach you to respect your superiors."

The batarian was about to force open the door when he was stopped by his fellow comrade, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Balak wants to deal with this woman personally."

The batarian growled as he stepped back. He noticed the grin on the woman as he snarled, "Don't count yourself, lucky woman. Once Balak gets a hold of you, I will take great pleasure in hearing your antagonizing scream as he…"

The batarian never finished as his armored kinetic barrier broke along with his entire head after the distinct sound of a magnetic field weapon fired. The batarian's cold, red blood and brain matter splattered across the glass window as his headless body slumped to the ground, causing the civilians and the batarian to panic. The batarian turned around to see a blue and silver geth with its long Javelin sniper rifle. He watched the geth unload one of its used thermal clips, a replaceable heat sink used to keep the weapon itself from overheating, from the geth-style, heavy sniper rifle before it took aim again at another batarian with its thermal scope for higher accuracy and heavy barrel for increase damage.

The batarian only had time to scream, "Geth Sniper!" before he was blown away like his comrade.

The alarm sounded as the batarians ran for cover or prepared to attack, while Legion-VII methodically killed its third target. It was about to move onto another target when a batarian engineer appeared to the legion's side with a glowing engineer drone/orb, intent on killing the geth. Only for the geth to flick on its omni-tool to use its sabotage hackability to cause the batarian weapon and drone to explode, taking a large chunk out of its shields as the geth put up its Javelin sniper rifle and replacing it with a Geth Pulse Assault Rifle programmed to fire cryo-rounds.

It then fired a large number of its frozen needle size bullets into the batarian to overwhelm what was left of its shields and armor before he fell to the ground dead as more batarians began to flood in. Legion-VII was forced to take cover as the batarians came into range and opened fire on the ledge it was sitting on. The batarians, determined to kill the geth failed to notice the inferno grenades thrown in their direction. The grenades went off in a flaming inferno of phosphorus and polonium gas that killed four of the batarians and created confusion among the rest, allowing Legion-VII to activate its cloak and disappear from the batarian's view.

With Legion-VII running to safety, Trex continued to create confusion with an M-37 Falcon cannon like a rifle with a stability damper to steady his aim. He continued to fire off specialized, microfilament explosive rounds that detonated on contact with each batarian time after time. The explosions sent the batarians stumbling back or dying. His attack continued until he noticed movement coming up behind him. In response, Trex quickly puts up his M-37 Falcon, before he pulled out his revolving assault shotgun, the N7 Piranha that had an omni-blade instead of a bayonet. Which he used to stab a batarian vanguard in the stomach.

The blue, biotic field of the charge dissipated, along with his failed shield as Trex dug his large glowing blade in before pulling it out and discharged his shotgun three times onto the second batarian. The tightly knit, spread of shells destroyed the batarian's shields in the first two shots before shredding the armor by the third shot. Trex smiled behind his armor as he continued killing batarians as Kaidan appeared on the battlefield. His helmet's facemask and his whole armor covered in an omni-tool like armor known as tech-armor as he charged to battle.

Kaidan's prominent chin and small lips looked serious as he took aim with his Y shape, heavy N7 Valkyrie assault rifle. His brown eyes appearing behind his helmet visor were filled with fire, as he opened fire on the batarians. The gun acted like a mini machine-gun as he took out four batarians before he burned out his entire thermal clip, forcing Kaidan to plop out a thermal clip as continued to fight. Taking batarians out at a slower pace, firing in bursts to keep the thermal clip from overheating while his armor absorbed every shot thrown his way. He continued to fire until a heavily armed batarian appeared rushing him.

Rather than going for the massive N7 Crusader shotgun on his back, Kaidan used his omni-tool to overload the enemy's shield. With the batarian's barrier down, he then summoned a blue, biotic field to fire off a biotic warp right into the batarian, shredding the slaver's armor and internal organs, as he fell to the ground dead. It was the start of the human's offensive as he sent a biotic push to fling two lightly defended batarian soldiers into the wall. Their necks snapped from several kilo-Newtons of force. Kaidan continued the offensive as he was joined by Trex's explosions and Legion-VII's sabotage of weapons after it reappeared to flank the enemy.

Something the commanding batarian slaver was not too happy about, as he tried to reorganize his men into a counter attack. He felt he was pushed back into a wall as he cursed, "A geth infiltrator, a human biotic sentinel and a krogan demolitionist. All we need to face is a quarian engineer, a marksman, another biotic or a mage, and we will be screwed."

"At least there are only three of…" a second batarian started to declare until a fireball hit the alien and sent him aflame.

Several batarians looked up to see a redheaded human with powerful green eyes behind a blue, clear visor with a right-sided microphone on top of her shoulder-length, messy hair. A frown was frozen on her heart-shaped face with freckles as she stared at the scared batarians before her. A face that people recognized as she and her brother were used by the First Battalion and the Confederation Alliance of Worlds' Navy recruitment posters.

To the hostages, it was hope as some muttered the title she earned for saving the colony Elysium, "The Hero of the Skyllian Blitz."

While the batarians shook as they muttered a title she earned for killing a thresher maw on foot, "The Beast Queen of Akuze."

The leader knew her better as, "Commander Jane Shepard, psychic knight class mage."

That was all she needed before Jane took to the offensive as she jumped off the ledge and opened fire with her M-15 Vindicator assault rifle, taking out two batarians before she hit ground level. She hit the ground running as she summoned an ice spike and slammed it into the head of a batarian as she rushed towards the lead slaver. Another batarian tried to intercept her when Jane put up her assault rifle to pull out her short, light M-22 Eviscerator shotgun to hit the batarian at close range for maximum effect. She passed by the bloody batarian corpse as she put her shotgun up on her back.

Energy swirled around her hands as she headed for the batarian leader and his two guards. The batarians did not wait to open fire at the approaching mage as her golden. Harden shield that made it that her enhanced kinetic barriers had an easier time shrugging off enemy bullets. Her shields outlasted her opponents as she came up close to drench her opponents in water with her right hand before she followed up with a wave of lightning. Her opponents' kinetic barriers and two of the three batarians quickly fell while the slavers leader's heavy armor absorbed the electrical strike.

The surviving batarian growled as he summoned an omni-blade to attack the approaching mage as energy whirled around her. He was not prepared for Jane's wrist launcher as it sent out two tubes that folded out a monomolecular bladed tomahawk and short sword. With a quick strike, Jane's tomahawk caught the omni-blade and pushed it down to follow up with a sword strike across the batarian's face. The wound dug deep into the man, making him yell as he tried a jab strike in Jane's stomach.

Jane avoided the quick strike, parrying the move and was ready to kill him when she noticed movement at the corner of her eye. With rapid precession, Jane broke through the batarian's attack, stuck her axe and sword into the man, and channeled her particle energy into the batarian. The batarian began to swell up like a balloon before Jane flung the batarian into the approaching numbers behind her. The batarian exploded in blood, bones, and guts, taking down a mass number of its fellow troops that tried to attack from behind her. Jane stared with satisfaction before she was forced to evade the enemy's gunfire.

A sniper shot along with assault rifles' bullets that squashed/shattered on impact, caused Jane's kinetic barrier to fall. Commander Jane Shepard was forced to jump off a rail to a lower ledge for cover. She hid behind the railing waiting for the VI (virtual intelligence) to tell her shields had recharged as she waited behind safety. While waiting, Jane looked over to see over a dozen batarians behind a cargo container with a batarian engineer activating or creating several robotic drone turrets. She was about to make a call when she noticed three batarians had snuck up on her, weapons pointed at her.

Jane was prepared to take a pounding when a biotic push from Kaidan sent the attackers into a metal wall with a satisfying crunch. Two of them died on impact while the third was pulled in front of Kaidan armed with his N7 Crusader shotgun. The shotgun blasted the batarian's chest out while a set of explosions happened behind Jane. She looked up to see Trex fire eighteen small rockets from his ML-77 Rocket Launcher, taking out the batarians and their drones. Leaving only one batarian alive before he was incinerated alive by Legion-VII's plasma-based omni-tool attack.

Jane felt safe to move out of her hidden location as the VI finally read her shields and they were restored. Jane was back in charge as they approached the hostages when a growl stopped them in their tracks. The four turned to see the growl came from the varren, fish like dogs with sharp teeth and whiskers originally from krogan homeworld, Tuchanka before they were taken off world and spread throughout the galaxy. These varren were trained war dogs that belonged to the Batarian military. While the batarians themselves were equipped with military grade black armor and exotic weapons that belong to the Batarian Hegemony alone. Jane's group were now dealing with elite military personnel of the Batarian Hegemony.

Jane and her comrades pulled out their pistols/SMG (submachine gun) and took aim at the batarian leader stepped up. The leader was a batarian with a green faceplate and yellow ridges along the sides of his head. Jane kept her hand steady with her silver M-77 Palladian heavy pistol as she turned to Legion-VII to ask, "Who are we dealing with?"

Legion-VII responded by lowering its short Geth Plasma SMG to use his omni-tool to run facial software and reported its results, "That unit is Captain Ka'hairal Balak, a batarian commando from the Special Intervention Black Ops of the Batarian Hegemony. Confederation Intelligence Division flags the man as an extremist and to approach with extreme caution. Standing orders are to shoot him and his unit on sight."

"Well I'm glad to hear that for I really want to shoot him," Trex stated as he aimed with his krogan made heavy pistol the Punisher. "I'll suggest we kill him now and be done with it."

"Agreed Commander," Kaidan nodded as pulled out his bulky, rapid-fire N7 Eagle heavy pistol.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Balak stated as he held up a detonator, causing the group to tense. Jane looked around to see three long cylinder devices with one near the hostages, while the other two were above and below them. Each close enough and packed with enough explosives to ensure that if one goes off, they all went off.

Balak smiled as he saw Jane's frown, "You humans are predictable. Now I'm leaving this asteroid. If you try to stop me, I'll detonate these charges. And your helper and all of her friends are all going to die."

"Why are you doing this?" Jane growled at Balak, who growled back an answer.

"Don't pretend you don't know, human! For it is retaliation against your kind and the galactic outcasts that follow your kind in taking what belongs to the batarians after you forced us into exile!" Jane's mouth was wide open while Balak continued his rant, "Your kind forced your way into the Attican Traverse, and we could do nothing, knowing that your kind alone was stronger than us and with the other rejects, you could obliterate us. You knew it, we knew it, the Council knew. So, my people did what had to be done.

"And what did that get us? We were forced into exile. Forced to survive on what we can scrounge up. It's been like that for decades. All the while the Confederation Alliance of Worlds gained power as my people are forced to suffer as you pushed my us into the background and deep depression."

"And now you're taking out your anger on these people," Kaidan exclaimed in a soft tone that carried across the room. "They've done nothing to you or the Batarian Hegemony. What could they have done to warrant such an attack?"

"Besides using resources that could have been ours and colonizing a planet that should have been ours," Balak accused as he glared at the group. "These people are far from innocent, and they will be used to make a statement."

"A statement that says you all were stupid," Jane snapped at the batarian. "I don't know what they teach to you batarians, but I will not stand you spewing lies to suit your version of history instead of the truth."

"How dare you," Balak stammered while Jane went on the attack.

"How dare you pretend your people are innocent when it's so far from the truth!" Jane huffed as she spoke, "The Batarian Hegemony used the Attican Traverse and, to a small extent, the independent Terminus Systems to run pirate and slaving rings for your economy for centuries. All the while claiming an interest but never colonizing or claiming those worlds so you would not be officially tied to the slaving and pirate attacks that your people funded.

"That was until the Confederation Alliance of Worlds came around and started to colonize free zones of the Attican Traverse for my people and the krogans, under the Council's approval, and you didn't care. You didn't care until we discovered that the Traverse was a rich area of space and you had no idea. Therefore, you bitched and moaned about losing such territory and tried to kick us out with funded pirate and slaver attacks. Only to fail as we fought back and began draining accounts set up to fund such operations. So, you went to the Council to try to regain control, and when that didn't work, you threw a fit and left the Council. You then threw everything you had, including your own military until you pushed your economy into ruin and drove yourself into exile."

Jane sighed as she added, "You have no one to blame but yourself for what happened."

"Not to mention if there is such a thing as a reject species, it's your kind for being known as the scum of the galaxy," Trex added with amusement as Kaidan looked at Balak, hoping that did not set him off.

"Bah-ah-ah-ah… you know nothing but lies, and I'm done listening to you!" Balak responded in cold anger. "Now I'll suggest you let us go or the hostages will die."

Jane stared before she lowered her gun followed by the others, with Trex being very reluctant. "I won't stop you, but I'll promise that your end will be soon."

"Perhaps, but it won't be you because those charges are on a timer," Balak stated before he and his men backed away. "I'll suggest you get to work," Balak added before he disappeared, leaving a tensed four-man squad.

Jane seeing the danger quickly barked out orders, "Legion-VII, Kaidan, disarm the demolition charge above the hostages while Trex and I handle the demolition charge below the hostages. Will both work our way up to the middle demolition charge to be disarmed. Everyone go!"

The two teams quickly rushed to the demolition charges with their weapons out. Trex was the first to reach the bomb, and he promptly got to work on disarming the bomb while the detonator was pulsing. Jane stood guard with her M-15 Vindicator as Legion-VII and Kaidan climbed up to the bomb on the top floor. As Trex worked to disarm the bomb, Legion-VII kept Jane informed through their omni-tool communicator.

" _Shepard-Commander. We were able to hack the communication's wireless to determine that we have four minutes and thirty-five seconds to disarm the demolition charge or the hostages will die. I'm sending you a timer to your hub_."

"Thanks, Legion-VII," Jane stated as a timer flashed through her visor. "Have you reached the bomb yet?"

" _We've reached the bomb_ ," Kaidan reported from their comms. " _Legion-VII is working to disarm it while I stand guard_."

Jane hummed in agreement, as she turned to Trex as he worked his omni-tool, "How close are you to disarming the bomb?"

"I'm overriding the computer's defenses, I will soon hack its circuits, and the bomb will no longer be a threat," Trex reported as he worked in crossing its circuits.

He almost lost his concentration when his shields flare from an attack of two drones rolling down to greet them. Jane responded with a lightning bolt into the two drones, destroying them in one shot. Jane grumbled, "Cheap batarian junk," before she turned to see that batarians left additional parting gifts. "Looks like they're not bringing their varren home," Jane mumbled as she watched two varrens come rushing towards her.

Jane responded with her telekinesis to slam the two varrens together with enough force to knock them down. The two fish dogs tried to shake it off, but Jane with her M-15 Vindicator opened fire, killing the two war beasts. Jane smiled at the fishy dogs went down when she noticed that while Trex destroyed most of the drones the batarians brought, there were still enough to be a threat when combined with the number of varren war dogs the batarians brought.

"How much longer Trex?" Jane asked as she opened fire on the approaching machines.

"Done," Trex grunted as the krogan pulled out his Executioner Pistol and fired, destroying a drone in one shot at the cost of the weapon's thermal clip.

Trex smiled as he switched with his M-37 Falcon and opened fire with limited success as the drones began to spread out. Jane realized their tactics when Kaidan reported through the radio, " _Commander, we have disarmed the bomb but were being pinned down by enemy drones._ "

"They're trying to pin us down as well to prevent us from getting to all three bombs, well I'm not about to let Balak kill these people" Jane growled.

"We'll still have time once we deal with these pests," Trex stated as he fired mine onto the ground with his omni-tool.

The mine soon exploded, taking out two varren while Jane looked over, "But that would be cutting it close, and I don't like leaving it that close." Jane then puts up her assault rifle as air swirled around her. "I'm going to take a more direct approach. Trex, cover me, and all of you try to get to me as soon as you can," Jane ordered, and her men acknowledge her orders.

Trex was laying down cover fire as Jane summoned a storm of air in her fingertips just before she shot off the ground onto the balcony that held the hostages and the second demolition charge. With a quick tap of her omni-tool, Jane began to hack into the demolition charge, keeping an eye at the time, indicating she had over three minutes to work. As she worked to cross circuits, she heard movement to her right to see a varren had slip passed Trex. The dogfish began to rush Jane, intent on feasting on the human when Jane pulled out her M-77 Paladin and opened fire.

The pistol, while weaker than the Trex's Executioner, was still more powerful per-bullet then her assault rifle. Therefore, one-shot destroyed the entire front of the varren's head as blood gushed out and spread across the floor as it fell to the ground. Jane ignored the dead varren in favor of putting up her gun to continue her work. She was so close she could feel it as she manipulated the circuitry until finally, she got the right combination, and the demolition charge was deactivated.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief until a varren appeared and jumped her. Her kinetic barrier flashed under a registered melee attack as the two fell to the ground. Jane began to fight the varren off when she saw a second at the corner of her eye, approaching like a pack of wolves working together to take down a stronger target. Jane was tensed as the varren moved on the attack when an electrically charged omni-blade went through the varren, killing it.

Jane never felt so happy when Legion-VII's cloak dispersed to reveal the cavalry had arrived. The varren on top of her found out the hard way when it was dispatched by Kaidan's biotic push as it flew right into Trex's axe. It was dead in the first strike as the krogan cleaved the beast in two. With the brutal animal dead, Jane pushed herself off the ground as she examined the field to see that the battle was officially over.

"That's it, we're done," Jane commented as Trex pressed a button to cause his helmet to unfold into his armor to show off his grin on his burnt face, along with a three-point, green skull.

Trex was glad to be rid of the helmet as he brown eyes looked for contacts with his comrades as he grinned, "Ah, and I was looking forward to evening more explosions. Oh well, there is always the next time."

"Glad you're looking at the upside Trex," Jane smiled before she turned to Kaidan to give out a few orders. "Kaidan, let's get the hostages out."

"You've got it, Commander," Kaidan acknowledge as his helmet unfolded off his slick, combed black hair and creased forehead.

With a tap of his omni-tool, the door unlocked within the building, and the dozen of hostages coming out, giving their thanks as Jane's team helped them out. All accept a brown-headed woman who had the nametag that read ' _Kate Bowman_.' Jane knew something was off as she approached in tears, "I can't believe you let Balak go, to save us. I had expected you to let us die. To sacrifice the few for the many, just as I had when…"

"When you wouldn't give us up for the man Balak held as a hostage," Jane stated.

"Yes…" Kate Bowman cried. "My brother was so stubborn. Always doing what was right, and now you let his killer go to save us."

"If I didn't do that, then I would be no better than the batarians," Jane told the young woman. "Besides, Balak is not going to get far. Knowing my brother, Balak is not going to leave this rock alive if he has anything to say about it."

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Asteroid X-57 over Terra Nova/HMS Soulless**

**Time: February 1, 2183**

Far away from the main facility, Balak and his surviving crew drove up to a triangle and oval shape ship, the _HMS Soulless_. A Batarian corvette that served as a long-range carrier that had snuck passed the CRF. Balak was smug as he walked down the halls while his men strapped into their seats. He was heading to the cockpit to tell the pilot to lift-off not noticing the small amount of blood on the floor as he entered the cockpit.

"Okay, it's time to get off of this ape infested…" Balak started as the pilot quickly turned to face him and stick a standard semi-automatic human riffle, the M-96 Mattock in his face.

A common riffle held by a not so ordinary human as it was a tall, muscular human in black, heavy armor with blue stripes along the chest and right arm. A human he recognized with his unshaven face, strong chin and cheekbones, and the broad forehead that made him tremble. Especially the human's eyes, his blue, cold, steely eyes behind the glowing orange visor. The last sight he ever saw as the human, John Shepard, opened fire at a close enough range to bypass his shields.

Balak fell to the ground, dead as all four of his eyes were pulverized from the powerful, semi-automatic rifle's polonium rounds. That was the only warning Balak's men had when vines shot out from their seats and wrapped around the batarians. They were frantic as an elf in green armor with a cape that had a mask made out of roots stood before them. They stared at the short, dirty blonde-haired person, whose hair was tied in a court style completed with a tattoo and green visor over her round, thin face now with a frown on it.

They were scared, as she did not have her bladed staff or the multi-shot, highly accurate N7 Valiant sniper rifle, but rather a bulky, rapid-fire N7 Eagle with the power amplifier that amplifies biotic and mage powers. However, they were not as afraid of the female elf that held them in place as they were of the male human who walked in, wielding N7 Eagle and M-12 Locust, a slick submachine gun that is an accurate and powerful weapon, both of which were equipped with a power amplifier.

A few mumbled, "The Shadow's Strategist," for his planning that saved the Elysium colony during the Skyllian.

The majority of batarians mumbled in fear, "The Butcher of Torfan," due to horror stories of the human that slaughtered everyone at Torfan.

John did not pay attention as he turned to face the female elf, "Good job, Lieutenant Commander Velanna O'Connell. Looks like we got some batarian soldiers to deliver to the CID, they'll be pleased."

"Thank you, sir," Velanna saluted as her superior turned to the captured batarians.

"Now then, I'm Captain John Shepard if you don't know. I doubt you wouldn't know my real name since I'm used by the Batarian Hegemony as a bogeyman to propitiate its propaganda of fear outside Batarian Space," John stated before he waved his dual weapons at the batarians. "Regardless, you should know I'm a ruthless renegade within the famous First Battalion. So you should consider telling me if there are anymore batarians on this rock before I turn you over to the authority, or I start shooting some of you at random and leaving the rest of you for the authorities."

The batarians, who were usually strong-willed, where not adequately trained to deal with emotionally draining spells in the entropy that Velanna deployed. It would not be long before the youngest of the batarian elite soldiers broke, "We're all that's left, and we would have died as well if Balak did not have hostages."

"My sister let you go?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes…" the batarian nervously answered the Captain.

John responded with a sigh as he put up his guns, "Looks like I'm going to have a talk with Commander Jane Shepard. Not that will matter to you, as the authorities will be here soon, so, goodbye."

John then got up, ready to leave when a batarian called, "You've thought this is the end, but it is not. You may have stopped the will of the Batarian People, but there are others that will ensure you upstarts will get what you deserve."

"So you did have help," John stated with a curious expression.

"It was a very powerful individual with influence across the galaxy. An individual who agrees with us that your kind is becoming too powerful for their own good," the batarian smirked as John raised an eyebrow.

"I don't suppose you would tell me who?" John asked as silence was John's only answer as he shrugged his shoulders, "I guess it doesn't matter. I'm sure the CID will get it out of you soon. Velanna, I believe this is the time for them to sleep."

Velanna grinned as she worked her powers to force the batarians to sleep. Within moments, all of their heads slumped before she even uttered the word, "Sleep."

With the batarians down, Velanna moved to John's side as the boxy Kodak Type B shuttlecraft appeared outside of the vehicle, as its thruster lowering it down from the four at the bottom, two flexible armed thrusters in front and two in back. Velanna turned to see the holographic screen in front of her superior communicate with the pilot, a purple and white geth with a single large white eye and four smaller ones around it.

"We'll meet you outside and rendezvous with our sister Ensign Aviation-1971," John ordered, and the geth nodded in response.

"Acknowledge," the geth had responded as communication was cut while John put on his helmet.

"Come on, we've got a stupid sister to collect," John ordered as Velanna nodded her head.

"Yes sir," Velanna stated, though John did not seem to acknowledge as the two left the craft towards the shuttlecraft as a small fleet of Confederation personal and ships went to take the batarians into custody. The two would leave the batarians to their fate as John headed to confront his sister.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Asteroid X-57 over Terra Nova/Main Facility**

**Human Date: February 1, 2183**

Within the Main Facility, Jane Shepard was giving Kate Bowman some good news about Balak she received through wireless transmissions. Kate Bowman cried in relief as justice for her, and her fellow colonist memories were realized. Jane was in good spirits when she felt a tap on the back of her armor. She turned to see it was John was right behind her.

"Ah, we were just talking about you being the hero of the day," Jane smiled before she turned to the woman sitting with her. "This is my brother I was talking about, the one that took care of Balak."

Kate Bowman got up to thank the man who killed her torturer, "Thank you, Captain, for making sure a monster like Balak will never harm anyone else."

"A pleasure I'm sure," John stated as he quickly brushed the woman aside to address his true target. "Commander Shepard, can you come with me. We have much to discuss."

Jane reluctantly nodded to follow her brother to a secluded place, already have a feeling what it is going to be about. John did not waste a second to tear his sister a new one, "What were you thinking, Commander Jane Shepard!? Letting Balak go! He could have escaped if I wasn't on his ship!"

"I knew you were looking for the batarians ships to make sure he wouldn't leave, so I let him go to save the hostages," Jane told him, as he looked less unhappy about the answer until Jane opened her mouth. "Though if you weren't here, I would still let him go."

"Why?" John bluntly asked his subordinate. "Why would you risk the chance of Balak escaping to cause more pain in the future?"

"Because it's like I told Kate Bowman. If I let those people die, I would be no better than the batarians," Jane smiled her small, innocent smile that made John shake his head.

John sighed as he stated, "You know I can't always be there to clean up your messes."

"Maybe so," Jane admitted, "but at least I'll sleep better knowing I did everything I could to save these people rather than allow them to die for what would be considered to be the easy path. Something Velanna and Sarah can relate to for if it weren't for our grandmother's sacrifice, they wouldn't be here."

"Yes, and it only cost a large portion of Alice McCoy's unit," John stated just before his omni-tool communication beep. "Let's see how long your naivety will last when you have your own command," John added before he activated his communication. "This is Captain John Shepard speaking."

" _Captain, this is Specialist Sinclair relaying orders that you return to the ship immediately for our next assignment_."

"So soon? What could it be?" Jane asked for her brother.

" _We are going to rendezvous to a nearby cluster to pick up a Citadel Council's Citizen for a joint mission. Details will be done on a more secure channel_ ," Sarah stated over the communicators.

"In other words, face to face," John had mumbled while Jane's hand wandered over his omni-tool.

"Okay Sarah, we'll be there. Jane signing out," Jane stated as she pressed a button that deactivated her brother's omni-tool. Alone, Jane turned to ask, "Well shall we go, big brother."

John nodded in agreement, "Yes, I think we shall," just as he left the room, followed by his little sister.

**Location: Undisclosed**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Within a dark ship that resembled a squid mixed with a crawfish's shell and legs stood two batarians with a dark structure that seemed alive despite the fact it was a machine. The ship was a dark living presence that seemed to want to swallow them whole just for being there. As if the ship was not enough to set them on edge, the two stood in front of a man covered in shadows. Whose features were not human nor were they beast. But acted as one as the batarians shuddered as they approached the man to give their reports.

"As you may have heard, the attack on the human colony Terra Nova had failed," the batarian nervously swallowed. "The entire cluster is in a frenzy looking for all the ships involved, and we lost a large portion of our black ops in the area. I think that our joint operation has failed."

The figure chuckled in a commanding tone as he stated, "Oh the operation did not fail. In fact, it went exactly as planned."

"What?" one of the batarians asked as the figure continued to chuckle.

"Quite frankly, you batarians are failures at just about everything, and I knew you would fail," the figure answered with a raised talon. "In fact, I was counting on it to distract the entire defense force of the Exodus Cluster to look for your men to ensure the next step of the operation would go smoothly."

"You used loyal men and woman of the Batarian Hegemony as bait!" exclaimed both batarians at the thin figure.

"Yes and now that I think about it. Your services are no longer required," the figure whistled out into the shadows to summon a horde of hideous creatures in dark organic armor with organic looking weapons.

Creatures one batarian recognized as she stammered, "Darkspawn."

"Yes, the darkspawn, the very creatures that had invaded Earth through dilithium introduce rips that killed billions on the human's homeworld. They will be the perfect weapon for what is to come. Something you two would be contributing to the wave of destruction that will save the whole galaxy," the figure stated that sent chills down their spines not as much as the figure's next set of orders.

"Send those two to the broodmothers! We could always use more batarian darkspawn," the figure added as a forethought as the two batarians were dragged down to the lower chambers kicking and screaming.

They were soon out of sight as a single grunt darkspawn set up. The corrupted human looking darkspawn with fanged like lips spoke in grunts that the figure understood, "So the Confederation's Fleet is on rotation. Excellent, then move the fleets. Its time too attack now!"

The darkspawn nodded as they went to their posts to prepare for the attack that was to come as a large fleet of old ships covered in organic armor flew right behind the great squid to a giant Mass Relay. A relay with rings inside, an oval-shaped end began to rapidly spin as blue lightning shot out to the ships to fling them across its two prongs into Faster than Light travel (FTL). They were heading to their designation for their first in a long series of dangerous campaigns.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Utopia System/Over Eden Prime/ _CSS Kebel_**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Over the lush, green world known as Eden Prime stood a heavily armed space station, defense satellites and a small fleet of eight ships, two Liberty class cruisers, one Genesis class heavy frigate, one Garden class heavy frigate, two Terra class frigates, and two Zen class frigates. Of the frigates classes, the Genesis and Terra class frigates were human-based delta shape starships with a long gun neck at the front, while the Garden and Zen class frigates were quarian base gunships with long bodies and a ring head. Both of which designs were added into the Liberty class cruisers, the bases of Confederation ships with its delta shape body with four engines at the round geth bulky ship body, and a long neck with a closed ring at the front.

Leading this small fleet was the _CSS Kebel_ ; a Liberty class cruiser commanded by a krogan named Captain Cruok, a massive krogan who was enjoying a stiff drink as his subordinate reported, "Sir nothing on scanners. It's very quiet as always."

"Of course it is, nothing ever exciting happens on this garden world for non-combatants," the Captain groaned. "I would love to go after the batarian scum that decided to attack us."

The bridge crew began to chuckle when a geth at communication started to pick up something wrong, "Cruok-Captain. Sensors at the relay report an active transmit coming from the relay."

"Well, who is it?" the Captain asked.

"Unknown," the geth reported in its clicking, mechanical voice. "All communications are down, and our units are now being jammed."

Captain Cruok knew what that meant as he pressed the intercom to yell, "We're under attack, all ships battle stations!" The Captain then turned off the comm so he could direct his forces. "Move our ships into battle positions and get the grid acti-"

"Cruok-Captain, ground team units report that there is a virus introduced into the systems, deactivating our space satellites and some of the ground emplacements. We've had limited planetary support," the geth reported to his commander. "The enemy must have hacked into the communication satellites at the relay to deliver the virus."

"Sir, several enemy units are going to be dropping out of FTL within a light second right about, now," one of Cruok's officers reported.

The Captain watched slack-jawed, as dozens of older ships appeared on his screen that sensors profiled as an old class of vessels, mostly fighters and frigates made from parts taken from a dozen races with a high amount of radiation seeping from the hull and with organic armor. However, the Captain was more concerned about the largest ship he had ever seen. A ship that was over two kilometers long and one their ship's sensors had no profile, it was the squid/crawfish like a ship with a long gun. A gun he had a right to fear, as he watched the approaching invasion force.

"My god," one of the bridge crewmembers muttered as the Captain quickly collected his thoughts.

The Captain was quick to yell out, "Launch fighters and all ships get into medium range and open…" until the squid enemy ship opened fire with its eight tentacles, all of which turned out to be guns.

The weapons fired long beams of hot molten streams of slag that generated enough heat to simulate plasma as it's lashed out at the small Confederation Alliance fleet. Within seconds, all frigates were destroyed, followed by the heavy frigates ten seconds later. Only the cruisers survived the twenty seconds long attack, though not without scars as a long gash mark along the ship's hull. The bridge looked like a war zone as the crew held onto their seats for dear life, even with the seat belts.

The Captain stared in shock as the crew read out the damage reports, "Shields are at sixty percent and hull breach along decks three through five. All gun placements on our dorsal side are damaged, except our PPC (Particle Plasma Cannons). Power is slightly fluctuating, and we have casualties reported."

"Sir, enemy ships are entering medium range," a bridge crewmember reported.

"Then open fire with mass effect and PPC weapons, as well as prepare for ramming speed!" the Captain ordered as he coughed out blood. "If we're going to die, well take as many of them with us as we can."

The two cruisers quickly complied with the krogans orders as they fired at once with mass effect bullets from their surviving broadside cannons while the main Thanix cannon fired off disruptor torpedoes every five seconds, killing frigates in their third or fourth shot. The projectile weapons were going a sixth the speed of light as they rammed into ships, causing damage by the widespread of fire. A prolog to their death as the ships fired their reddish blue colored, duo particle plasma beams killing two cruisers while the mass accelerated weapons continued to fire.

Watching the sixth enemy frigate explode, the Captain was about to order ramming speed when a bridge crewmember yells out, "Captain, the enemy dreadnaught is turning towards and charging its main cannon. Oh god… it's about to fire."

Captain Cruok, seeing the enemy facing his two cruisers stood up to say, "It's was an honor serving with you all, and it is a good day to die."

The last words the bridge crew would ever hear as a powerful, long stream of molten slag shot out of the main gun with more power than any ship had ever seen in the Galaxy. The blast went right through the two Liberty Class cruisers with such intensity that it melted the ship's Solaris armor within seconds. The beam went through the vessel just before the ship exploded into ribbons. The very air exploded, causing a chain reaction that went to every part exploding fuel, munitions and its elemental zero drive core. All that was left was rubble as the beam continued and hit the station. The station was saved by its thicker armor and kinetic barrier, but it was still knocked into a higher orbit, and the hull was breached in the upper level.

Nothing stopped the invasion as the fleet headed to the planet as the organic ship led the charge as it was followed by another organic vessel. Though with a long cylinder body with biological parts in front of its beam weapon and large engine in its back. Eden Prime was going to be the beginning of a long war.

**Characters Stats**

Name and Rank: Rear Admiral David Anderson (N7)

Species: human

Class: Commando (soldier)

Special: pyro omni-tool attack

Melee Weapon: flaming omni-blade

Grenades: inferno grenades

Kinetic Weapons: M96 Mattock, M77-Paladin, N7 Valiant, & ML-77 Missile Launcher

Ammo: inferno rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Captain John Shepard (N7)

Species: human

Class: Sentinel (biotic)

Special: can make additional biotic slam attacks

Melee Weapon: dual omni-blades

Grenades: polonium grenades

Kinetic Weapons: M-96 Mattock (high-velocity barrel and thermal scope), N7 Eagle (power magnifier), & M-12 Locust (power magnifier)

Ammo: polonium rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Commander Jane Shepard (N7)

Species: human

Class: Balance Psychic Knight (mage)

Special: can do liquid (water) spells

Melee Weapon: monomolecular bladed short sword and tomahawk

Grenades: cryo grenades

Kinetic Weapons: M-15 Vindicator (stability damper), M-77 Paladin, & M-22 Eviscerator

Ammo: particle plasma rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Lieutenant Commander Velanna O'Connell (N7)

Species: elf

Class: Entropy Magician (mage)

Special: power derives from a desire demon and can do plant spells

Melee Weapon: monomolecular bladed staff

Grenades: vine grenades

Kinetic Weapons: N7 Eagle (power amplifier) & N7 Valliant

Ammo: energy leach rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Lieutenant 1st Class Kaidan Alenko (N6)

Species: human

Class: Sentinel (biotic)

Melee Weapon: dual omni-blade

Grenades: lift grenades

Kinetic Weapons: N7 Valkyrie, N7 Eagle, & N7 Crusader

Ammo: cryo rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Lieutenant 2nd Class Legion-VII (N5)

Species: geth

Class: Infiltrator (tech)

Melee Weapon: electrical omni-gauntlet

Grenades: arc grenades

Kinetic Weapons: Geth Pulse Rifle (stability), Javelin (heavy barrel & thermal scope), & Geth Plasma SMG (heat sink upgrade)

Ammo: cryo rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Lieutenant 2nd Class Raik, Trex (N5)

Species: krogan

Class: Demolitionist (soldier)

Melee Weapon: monomolecular bladed battle-axe

Grenades: inferno, polonium, & sticky grenade

Kinetic Weapons: M-37 Falcon (stability damper) Executioner Pistol (heavy barrel), N7 Piranha (Omni-blade), & ML-77 Missile Launcher

Ammo: explosive rounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done with my longest chapter, I hope you enjoy and please review to give me your opinion. Also, hope you like the story has two different Shepards. With Jane being the fun-loving, naive woman that is able to rally troops and acts like a paragon of strength during battle, while John is a brilliant tactician that is a cold, calculating person that acts like a renegade.  
> A) Codex is in a separate story for enjoyment. Please read it if you like the Mass Effect Codex for story changes, and if you have already read it, please note I made a few edits and additions including a new class of mech, like the Atlas Mark II.  
> B) Style Notes:  
> Lowercase species name (asari): species  
> Uppercase Species Name (Asari): Species Specific Government  
> "Quotes": Communication Face to Face  
> "Bold Quotes": Dark Echoing Communication Face to Face  
> "Italic Quotes": Communication Done Through Non-Face to Face Transmission  
> "Bold Italic Quotes": Telepathic Communication


	2. Eden Prime Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Dragon Age or Mass Effect both of those are properties of Bioware, and I am hoping that Dragon Age Inquisition is going to be good.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/05/2018

**Location: Edge of Cluster 11533/Dark Space/CSS Normandy**

**Human Date: February 2, 2183**

Dark Space, a term used to describe the area of empty space between solar systems, nebulas and the like that hold almost no value, military or otherwise. In other words, zones perfect for secret mobile bases meant to be hidden or places to hold secret meetings. Meetings much like the one happening between two warships from two different organizations. The smaller warship was a Spirit class frigate from the Citadel Council, a long neck warship with two folding wings, each attached with two engines seen on human vessels. The warship was designed with a combination of technology from both the Confederation and Citadel forces. Though its outer design closely resembled human and turian ships.

It was also a design that carried through to the second-generation warship made by the Confederation Alliance of Worlds. The same ship that flew in from the Exodus Cluster, the _CSS Normandy_ was a Specter class heavy frigate that was the successor to the Spirit class frigate in every form. It was a more powerful warship with a longer neck, and a thicker and more substantial body, especially in the back end of the ship as it had more of an oval shape than a narrow end. A warship that dwarfed the Spirit class when given the side-by-side comparison as the two were connected under its long docking arms attached to both the _CSS Normandy_ and the Council Ship _Spectral_.

Outside the airlock, Rear Admiral Anderson, Captain John Shepard, and Commander Jane Shepard were waiting patiently for their guest. John stood straight and was very stiff in his black dress uniform, while Jane was more informal. So informal that it made her brother staring at her as she wore a vest with shoulder pads underneath her open, black uniform. John was not amused.

"Sister, button up your uniform," John ordered.

"Why? I'm not the XO of this ship. I don't even know why I'm here," Jane said with a frown.

"You're needed because I requested it, so please Jane, try to look professional, for me," Anderson pleaded in a warm, grandfatherly smile.

Jane could not fight against such a smile and sighed in defeat as she buttoned up her uniform. "Alright, I'll do it. But if I have to look professional the whole time, I'll scream."

"Don't worry, you'll be back in your armor soon enough," Anderson smiled.

"Part of this mission you're not at liberty to tell us, sir?" John asked his commander.

"Not at the moment, as this came from my superiors on a need to know basis, but I'll promise you'll find out soon," Anderson stated with a small smile.

"Can you at least tell us who we are greeting?" Jane asked.

"Of course, we are greeting a SPECTRE from the Council," Anderson stated with a small smirk.

He understood their concern as his two officers looked slack-jawed as they both declared, "What?!"

Before they could question him further, they were forced to stand at attention as the doors opened to reveal a turian SPECTRE standing in front of them. Turians are a species that resemble a cross between birds and raptors with their physically tough, scaly skin around their harden head that had a flat nose and mouth instead of a beak. Their mouths also had sharp teeth hidden under a flexible mandible on each side of their dark brown skin. Skin covered by ceremonial paint, white in this case. This particular turian was male with spines at the back of the head and green eyes that scanned the room until he stared at the three humans. He then smiled, flexing his mandibles to show off his sharp teeth as he walked over to them.

The humans looked up as the turian towered over them as he held up his right hand while the other held a military bag over his left shoulder. "SPECTRE Nihlus Kryik, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Anderson took his hand and the humans five fingers wrapped around the turian's three, long fingers, "The pleasure is mine. Welcome aboard the _CSS Normandy_ , these are my field officers, Captain John Shepard, and Commander Jane Shepard."

"So these are the legendary heroes of Elysium, most impressive, I've been following your careers since," Nihlus smiled as he turned to Jane. "You, in particular, have been of great interest, Commander Jane Shepard. It's an extraordinary person to rally the populous against an attack. It is also amazing that not only you survived the attack on Akuze, but you were also able to kill a Thresher Maw on foot."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without my team, sir," Jane stated with a small blush on her lips.

Nihlus smiled as he looked at Anderson, "Humble too. I see you choose wisely."

"Perhaps, though she can be a pain in the butt when it comes to authority," Anderson joked while Jane pouted.

"Oh I feel so insulted," Jane stated as she shook her head.

"This is what you get for not acting professionally, Commander," John stated as Nihlus turned his attention to him.

"Ah, Captain John Shepard, I can see your reputation is well deserved," Nihlus stated with the turian's equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

"And what kind of reputation is that?" John asked.

"You have a ruthless reputation that matches the title the batarians gave you, the Bucher of Torfan," Nihlus stated with a blank stare.

"And that has you concerned?" John asked with a raised eyebrow. "Surprising considering that the SPECTREs has the freedom to do whatever they want as long it's not treasonous against the Council."

"Just because the law does not interfere with our job, doesn't mean some of us are without honor to follow it," Nihlus stated with anger that forced John to back off.

"I'd apologized for insinuating you have no honor," John stated with a neutral tone.

"Well, I think we've talked enough, Nihlus if you follow me, I will show you to your quarters," Anderson stated toward the turian.

"Thank you, Admiral, I'll think I'll drop off my equipment," Nihlus smiled before he turned to the two younger humans. "It was a pleasure meeting you Captain, Commander."

The two officers bowed in response as Anderson looked to the cockpit to yell out, "Joker. Cortona and Eliza have the coordinates to our next destination. Once they hand it over set a course immediately."

The pilot, an unshaven Lieutenant in a vested uniform with purple stripes and a ball cap turned to the purple and green holographic woman that smiled at the pilot. Just before they gave him a holographic screen of numbers, Lieutenant 2nd Class Jeff "Joker" Moreau's green eyes scanned the coordinates before he turned to ask, "Commander, these coordinates take us back to the Exodus Cluster towards Eden Prime. Are these accurate?"

"They are Joker," Anderson answered before he asked his own question. "Is that a problem?"

"No sir, but I was wondering if we may take this cluster's Secondary Relay back to the Exodus Cluster rather than the long way," Joker told Anderson back. "It should cut our time by quite a few hours and lower our collective boredom."

"Confirmed Mon-Capitan, it would turn a ten hour trip to a four hour one taking this path," Cortona confirmed.

"Fine, then use the relay, but only to the edge of the solar system. Far enough to allow us to fly in with our stealth system if need be," Anderson ordered as the pilot smirked.

"Aye, aye Admiral," Joker smirked as he moved away from the small frigate before entering FTL towards the nearby system while John and Jane stare at their commander.

"We're heading to the peaceful garden world Eden Prime? Why?" Jane asked with John nearby also curious about it.

"I'll explain later during a debriefing as we get closer to Eden Prime, I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but all I can say is it's a black opt mission deemed need to know," Anderson stated with an explanation. "You'll understand once it's time to reveal it."

John sighed as he stated, "We'll trust your judgment, sir. You have not let us down so far sir."

Anderson nodded as he led Nihlus through Combat Information Center (CIC). A room filled with crewmembers sitting down or standing over holographic control panels. They were deep at work peering into holographic images of the ship in front of a galaxy map. A map the commander would use to navigate on top of a platform that was over the crewmembers, rather than the center like most Confederation ships. The crewmembers watched in silence as the Admiral and SPECTRE reached the elevator and waited for the doors to close before beginning to talk among themselves. Mostly the humans talked as the geth concentrated on their tasks while the few krogans stood guard with their fellow human soldiers.

Among them were John and Jane as they walked into the CIC, "Well that was interesting; I wonder what our mission is going to be?"

"I don't know, I have a feeling it's going to be bad," John stated.

"You're telling me, Captain," stated a bold man with white hair under his chin, lip, and sideburns. "I don't think it's wise to have a SPECTRE onboard, especially a turian."

"Is that a bit of racism I hear in your voice, Pressly?" Jane asked without a hint of amusement.

"No ma'am," the uniformed Lieutenant Commander quickly replied, as his silver bands seem to glow in embarrassment. "I just have a family history with them. My granddad and father fought in the Human Turian War, lost some friends during the turian invasion, and even more died when the Council refused to help Earth during the Darkspawn War."

"That was over thirty to forty years ago. You can't blame Nihlus for those events," Jane pointed out.

"I guess not, though I wouldn't trust a SPECTRE, especially a turian," Pressly added in his thick, American Western accent. "We're part of the Confederation Navy and answer to the Confederation Alliance of Worlds, but Nihlus does not answer to our superiors. In fact, as long as he completes the mission, he doesn't even answer to his Citadel Council, and that is dangerous. I just hope Anderson knows what he is doing."

"You don't think Anderson is up to the task?" John asked.

"Oh I know he is," Pressly nodded. "A veteran from every conflict from the Darkspawn War and up, he is one of the most decorated Special Forces there is. If he melted all his medals down, he could make a life-size statue of himself at least. I can trust him to keep one turian in line."

"That's good to hear, I would hate to tell the boss you don't trust him on the mission," Eliza stated as she popped up behind Pressly.

The man almost jumped out of his skin in shock while Jane smiled broadly at Eliza, "Nice one, Eliza! Though I hope you don't plan to do anymore sneaking up on our old navigational officer. It wouldn't do Pressly any good if you gave him a heart attack."

John just shook his head as he looked at Eliza, "Where is Cortona?"

"She's in the cockpit, talking with Joker. I now know where she gets her disruptive manners," Eliza stated with a bit of disdain on the AI's face.

"I feel sorry for Kaidan then," Jane stated with a bit of a giggle. "He's at the bridge acting as the Operational Officer."

John bit his lip to prevent a rebuke before he turned to Eliza to ask, "So Lieutenant, are you willing to tell us anything about our mission?"

"Um… nothing except don't expect much fighting as our mission will be a pickup. Soooooo, nothing to worry about," Eliza quickly added.

"That's good to hear," stated a British accented woman with silver hair in a medical/scientific version of a military suit. "Action usually means I'm patching up soldiers in the infirmary."

"Don't worry doc, I promise not to be in the infirmary anytime soon," Jane jokingly added, much to the woman's amusement, as she tried to hide the smirk on her smooth cheeks and long chin.

Although she did not bother to hide her glare with her steely green eyes, "I hope so as I am tired of treating you, your brother and all the soldiers under both of you from every hard mission you go on. Which seems to be the vast majority of them."

Sinclair at her own station rolled her eyes before she turned to see three more personnel coming up. They were Lieutenant 2nd Legion-VII, Trex in full body armor and Lieutenant Commander Velanna O'Connell in full uniform, gloves and a ball cap that hid most of her features. Velanna shyly surveyed the group, trying to blend into the shadows as she walked over to one of the few people she trusted, Captain John Shepard.

"Sir, why is there a turian SPECTRE on this ship?" Velanna asked.

"Apparently we're doing a joint mission on Eden Prime," John told Velanna.

"So nothing dangerous, huh?" Trex asked with a pout.

"I doubt it, as nothing volatile happens in the peaceful joint farming world known as Eden Prime," John stated, not knowing how wrong his words were.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime/Communication Relay**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

On the surface of Eden Prime, chaos descended on the populous as men, women, and machines laid down their lives defending the planet from the violent invaders. The cities were protected by shield generators while areas outside of these cities were evacuated to shelters as soldiers fought in the burning fields around them. In one particular location, a platoon was protecting a communication relay with their lives. Over eighty soldiers in camouflage armor fought with ferocity, as they were led by a black-haired, tanned beauty that was rallying her troops. Her ponytail did not even move as she fired from her long, powerful, Black Widow Sniper Rifle at a faraway target.

Her brown eyes were filled with determination as she yelled, "Hold the lines as long as you can! We need to call for reinforcements, or we will be over-run planet-wide!"

"I am trying to break through the interface Ash, but it's going to take time," the soldier at the console reported.

"Well keep at it, our other communication towers and the QEC were taken down when they destroyed our Command Center and crippled the Space Station. We will have to make do with what we have," Lieutenant 1st Class Ashley 'Ash' Williams stated as she took another shot.

"Lieutenant Williams, a large number of enemy units are charging at us," reported a krogan as he pointed off in the distance.

"Shit, get ready and hold the lines!" Ashley Williams ordered as she pulled out her M-96 Matlock and opened with her semi-automatic rifle.

"Lieutenant, I've broken through the interference, I'm sending the message now," stated the soldier at the communication antenna.

"Then send it in a loop and pray someone gets it!" Ashley Williams ordered as she fought alongside her soldiers, saying a silent prayer. "Please oh merciful Lord, hear my prayer and deliver my men and me to safety… Amen."

**Location: (Cluster 11533/System 11533-1/Relay to Exodus Cluster/Asgard System)/CSS Normandy: Deck 1**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Within a small red star system, the _CSS Normandy_ was heading full speed to a Secondary Mass Relay. Smaller than a Primary Relay, Secondary Relays are specialized Relays that can be used to go any direction or connect to a Primary Relay. Secondary Relays have a limited range of a hundred-light-years, as opposed to Primary's that could transition over tens of thousands of light years in one jump, or even further when connected to a series of activated Mass Relays. Joker was counting down as the _CSS Normandy_ made its approach to a Secondary Relay.

The ship's engines closed into the wing just before the _CSS Normandy_ hit the relay. A magnetic light show appeared around the relay before it attached to the vessel and slingshot it into a nearby cluster as Joker reported, "Thrusters… check. Navigation… check. Internal emission sink engaged. All systems are online. Drift… just under One thousand K."

"One thousand K is good, Admiral Anderson will be pleased," Nihlus stated as he walked away, passing Jane and John Shepard.

Joker waited until he was out of earshot to grumble out loud, "I hate that guy."

"Nihlus gave you a compliment, so you hate him," Kadan stated in a deadpan tone.

"You ever remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom, that's good. I just hit a target zone the equivalent size of a pinhead with the equivalent of a pea shooter, so that's incredible," Joker snubbed Kaidan.

"Actually amazing would be a better term since the average ship suffers a drift of six hundred kilometers using a secondary relay at a short distance while Primary Mass Relays have a standard drift of three thousand kilometers," Cortona pointed out.

"Exactly my main point," Joker exclaimed with a broad smile. "Though my second point is that SPECTREs can't be trusted. Call me paranoid."

"I'll have to agree with Joker," Jane nodded along with Joker's comment. "This is the fourth time I ran into him in four hours, and it always feels like he is observing me. It's kind of creepy."

"Seeing things that aren't there, little sis?" John asked with a raised suggestive eyebrow. "Maybe you have a crush on him?"

"No brother, the only people I've been attracted to have been human males and… um… maybe once with a therapeutic asari… Joker, snap out of it!" Jane yelled at the pilot as he developed a dreamy look while Cortona laughed.

Embarrassed, Jane sulked until John gave a small snort. Feeling the need to get back at her brother, Jane attacked the man with her own comeback that was true, "Anyway, outside of that one case among dozens, I have never been attracted to an alien. Unlike a certain Captain with a certain Lieutenant Commander," Jane pointed out, forcing John to blink with a surprise expression as Jane moved the conversation on. "Besides, even if I was attracted to an alien, I'm not one for people that are by the book like most turians are. A rule that includes most of the men I work with, no offense Kaidan."

"That's fine, you're a bit too headstrong for me anyway," Kaidan waved her off with a heartfelt smile.

Joker was about to make a comment when he was interrupted by a call from the back of the ship, " _Joker, status report._ "

"Just cleared the mass relay and entered into the Asgard System. Stealth system is engaged. Everything seems fine," Joker reported with a stiff posture that caused Cortona to giggle.

" _Good, find a Comm Buoy and link with it. I want status reports delivered to High Command before we reach Eden Prime,_ " Admiral David Anderson ordered over the comm.

"Aye, aye, Admiral," Joker replied before he realized he had one more thing to report. "Better watch yourself, sir; I think Nihlus is coming your way."

" _He's already here Lieutenant_ ," Anderson growled in a way that made Joker snort. " _Have John, Jane and their team report to the war room for a debriefing!_ " Anderson ordered before the comms were cut.

"You heard that sirs, ma'am?" Joker asked.

"He sounds angry, something must have gone wrong with the mission," John stated with disdain as he moved toward the end of the ship.

"The Admiral is always angry when he talks to me," Joker grumbled.

"Can't possibly imagine why?" Kaidan added as he got up to walk with his commanders.

The _CSS Normandy_ is a five-deck ship with four main decks and a large cabin quarter at the very top reserved for the commanding officer of the ship to sleep and house private meetings with VIPs or discuss privately with those under the commander. The other four decks can be summed up with a few words. Deck 4 is the hanger bay with the shuttles, Mako, and a smaller hover tank version of the Mako, the M-44 Hammerhead, while Deck 3 is engineering and the cargo facility. Deck 2 is the crew quarters, lounges, medical facility, mess hall, and firing control, while Deck 1, held not only the cockpit and CIC at the front but other specialized systems.

On the starboard side of Deck 1 was the Research and Manufacturing Facility closed off to most personal, and it was only accessible via the CIC. The port side held a waiting room and a secured door guarded by a human and a krogan who were bickering like a married couple. Past the guards was the War Room, a large facility that held meetings to discuss the mission plan for soldiers, as well as officers like Sarah and Eliza who were hard at work keeping the ship up to date. It was the perfect place for Nihlus to camp out in as he looked at a holographic image of Eden Prime as the team walked in.

He soon turned his attention to the large group led by John and Jane Shepard. "Ah, Commander, Captain, I was hoping to talk to you. We have some time to talk before the Admiral arrives."

"About what?" Jane asked with an inquisitive look.

"Well about Eden Prime for a starter," Nihlus pointed out. "I hear it's quite beautiful."

"Well, the way Sergeant Jenkins and my old uncle talk about it, it's a paradise," Trex stated in the background.

"What he said," Jane nodded along as she pointed back to Trex.

"Yes, a paradise. Serene, tranquil, Eden Prime has become a symbol of unity to the Confederation and so much more." Nihlus nodded along as he went in for his point. "Proof that the krogans can achieve domestic peace and humanity can not only colonize the stars but also protect them. But how safe is it really?"

"You know something?" John asked suspiciously

"You humans are still newcomers to the galaxy, and your outcast allies have only recently ended their 'exile' to the galactic stage. Do you think that all of you are ready for this?" Nihlus asked while Anderson stepped down from behind him.

"I think it's time for them to know what is really going on, Nihlus," David Anderson told Nihlus who nodded in acceptance.

"This run is more than a simple pickup mission," Nihlus told the group.

"Wow, I guess Joker's paranoia is not as farfetched as I thought," Kaidan mumbled as he took a seat.

This left Legion-VII to ask the critical question with an annoying click, "Why weren't we informed of this Anderson-Admiral?"

"You know the drill for top-secret missions, it was on a need to know basis," Anderson told the group as they nodded in acceptance. "A research team unearthed some kind of Beacon on Eden Prime. It was Prothean."

This caused the group to gasp as Velanna quietly muttered, "I thought the Protheans disappeared fifty thousand years ago."

A mutter Nihlus heard as he smiled at the meek elf, who squeaked as Nihlus continued the conversation, "There legacy still remains. The Mass Relays, the Citadel, our ship drive cores, anything that does not deal with dilithium crystals are all based on Prothean technology."

"This is big. When humanity discovered the Prothean Archive on Mars, it jumped forward our technology by over a hundred years. The only thing comparable to such a leap was discovering the amplitude of dilithium crystals in its use to store and focus energy," Anderson stated.

"A fact that is especially concerning to fellow units and this unit. As the Beacons were determined to be long range communication technology used by the Prothean Empire's organic units for instant communication via telepathy," Legion-VII clicked in response. "Making it possible that it holds information about what causes the Prothean Empire to disappear, or significantly advance technology, something many units would kill for."

"Exactly, that is why we need to pick it up and deliver it to the Citadel where both Confederation and Council scientists are waiting to examine it," Anderson explained.

"Why are we taking the Prothean Beacon to the heart of Citadel Space instead of keeping it or bringing it to an independent planet?" John asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No offense to you but all the members of your club do not have the best reputation," Nihlus stated sadly. "The krogans are viewed as brutes due to their part in the Krogan Rebellions and until recently had no unified government outside of gangs and pirates. The quarians, while losing their images of thieves during their time on the migrant fleet, are still distrusted for making the geth, and I don't need to tell you people fear AIs in Citadel Space."

Legion-VII clicked in annoyance as the turian continued, "And humans are viewed as too ambitious, too unpredictable, and even dangerous. Combined with being at the forefront of dilithium crystals technology and involved in the bloodiest conflicts in the last one thousand years… well, I don't need to go on, do I?"

"Sharing that Beacon will be good PR for us and improve our relationship with the Council. Besides, we need their expertise anyway. They have been studying Prothean technology longer then we have," Anderson explained to his men with a nod before Nihlus approached the group.

"The Beacon is not the only reason I'm here."

"Nihlus is here to evaluate you as a SPECTRE agent, Commander," Anderson explained.

"I guess it explains why I keep running into him," Jane mussed while Velanna made a soft, quiet comment.

"Why would the Council accept a foreign power agent as one of their own?"

"With our increasing number of joint operations in the Attican Traverse and the lawless Terminus Systems, both sides recognize we needed to make a joint team for future operations. Therefore, the Council proposed this idea. That one of our members will be accepted into the SPECTREs to work with agents from the Citadel Council that would speak for the Council, while his or her squad will speak for the Confederation," Anderson explained while Nihlus nodded along.

"You two humans and your entire team showed skill and commitment to not only get the job done but to do it right. It is exemplary and why I nominated your entire team," Nihlus stated, shocking the group into whispers.

"Why would a turian even do such a thing?" John asked out loud.

"Not all of my species hold a grudge for mistakes of the past. Some of us see potential in every race in your club and how much a… ally the Confederation can be," Nihlus quickly corrected himself.

"I assume this is good for the CAW?" John asked.

"Yes, so I expect you to be on your best behavior Captain," Anderson stated before Nihlus took over.

"I need to see your team in action. Eden Prime will be one of several missions we do together, before and after Jane becomes a SPECTRE as I teach her the rope as we work together, Captain."

"Don't you mean Anderson?" John asked.

"He knows what he means Captain. As no matter how this mission turns out, for better or worse, Eliza and I will be transferring to _CSS Waterloo_ as Captain John Shepard takes command of the _CSS Normandy_ ," Anderson announced to the group.

"Sir?" John asked in confusion.

"This has been a move I've been planning for a while now, and with the push for Jane to become a SPECTRE convinced me now is the time to hand over the reigns as it were," Anderson explained with a small chuckle. "Though seriously, I know you all will do well."

The whole crew stood motionless until Jane developed a small smile as she stood straight and saluted Anderson, and the rest of the crew followed suit as Jane stated, "We won't let you down, Sir!"

"I know you won't Commander, but thank you for the reassurance," Anderson smiled as some of the staff chuckled before he got serious. "Now I suggest you all suit up. We'll be heading to Eden Prime-"

Anderson started off when Joker interrupted him over the intercom, " _Admiral, we have a problem_!"

"What is it, Joker?" Anderson demanded.

" _We've picked-up a distress signal from Eden Prime. It's not pretty_ ," Cortona had answered for Joker.

"Show me," Anderson ordered.

Immediately, the holographic image of the planet turned into a cube with a large screen on each side, showing a massive battle was taking place. The color picture showed many gunfights as a woman in camouflage armor appeared on the screen. The tanned woman with a target scope over her right eye yelled at the screen to tell the crew the situation, or she was trying to through all the static, " _This is Lieutenant 1st Class Ashley Williams of the 212th infantry on [static] Prime. Speaking for General Martock of [static] Haliot to say we are under attack from [static]._ _We're suffering heavy [static], our defense fleet and QEC has been destroyed, most of our communication are [static], and our [static] defenses were hacked, making them inoperable. We need [static] assistance. Please send… my God, what is that_?"

The cameraman turned his camera towards the sky to show a ship 2km long with tentacles descend onto the ground before it opened fire with red-hot molten beam and the image was cut. " _There is nothing else except for static, sir, nothing,_ " Cortona reported over the comm.

"Reverse the image and hold at twenty-eight-point-three seconds," Anderson ordered, and the image stopped at the ship. One look and he stated, "So it returned."

"What?" Jane asked out loud, as Anderson looked with interest.

"Something I'm not at liberty to say except that last time we saw that ship it cost us several ships and thousands of personnel. This will be bad," Anderson stated before turning towards Sarah. "Sarah, relay this message. We need reinforcements now!"

"Yes, sir!" Sarah saluted before she ran to the QEC station to carry out his order.

As the qunari relayed the message, Anderson continued on his orders, "Joker, move us in fast and quiet. We need to get to the Beacon."

" _Aye, sir_!" Joker replied before disconnecting to do his job as Anderson looked over the crew.

"Alright Jane, you will take Kaidan, Trex, and Legion-VII to the planet below to retrieve the Beacon with Nihlus. I'm hoping the combination of firepower, knowledge of the place and hacking ability will be important in getting that Beacon with a small team."

"A small team will increase the chance of our success," Nihlus nodded concurring with Anderson's reasoning.

"What about survivors, sir?" Kaidan asked Anderson.

"Helping survivors is a secondary concern, the Beacon is your primary concern," Anderson told the group.

Jane flinched at the order as she grumbled, "Yes, sir!"

"As for you John and Velanna, I have a separate mission for you two," Anderson stated to the human and elf. "As you may know, today was Unification Day for the Krogan Clan Alliance. As such, Supreme Commander of the Krogans is there to give a speech of a changing tomorrow. Since we cannot afford to lose him, I am assigning you two to find Urdnot, Wrex and keep him alive."

"Damn… why couldn't I be on John's team?" Trex muttered out loud while John saluted.

"I'll find him sir, but I'll need a guide, as well as a hacker of my own," John told the admiral.

Jane had a solution when she stated, "Jenkins was born on Eden Prime. He would surely make a good guide."

"I'll take him, but I'll still need a computer expert since we don't know what we will face exactly," John pointed out.

"Go down to Engineering to see if Adams has anyone. Otherwise, suit up and prepare for planet-side operations," Anderson ordered the crew.

The men ran out to get ready for the beginning of a long haul.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy: Deck 3**

**Human Date: February 3, 2083**

Under the hum of the element zero drive core, a female quarian in a black/purplish suit with yellow around the neck was on her back, working on a console. She was putting the last pieces together as sweat dripped from her cute, thin face, long fizzled hair and long pale eyes. The quarian felt relief until she felt a tug on one of her two-digit toes on her right foot.

The quarian shrieked as she yelled, "Chief Adams, what are you doing!"

The human chuckled as he stated, "I needed to get your attention somehow Tali. Now come on out, we have an important guest here."

The quarian, Tali, slowly pushed herself out to face the older, tanned human with Crew-cut brown hair and green eyes. He stood in a black jumpsuit with orange stripes that was a contrast to his armored guest. A man she recognized as she shot up and saluted the Captain, "Ensign Tali'Zorah nar _Normandy_ , reporting in sir!"

"At ease Ensign, this is not an inspection," declared Captain John Shepard. "Lieutenant Commander Greg Adams told me that you're the best if I'm looking for a field technician with hacking skills. Is that true?"

"I graduated top of my class and was recruited out of the academy due to my training. I'm also qualified in all weapons, sir!" Tali nodded with a nervous step.

"Any field experience?" John asked, and Tali nervously shook her head.

"No, sir! I was recruited just as I graduated from the Academy a month ago."

"Well your about to get a crash course. An unknown enemy is attacking Eden Prime, and we'll need a computer expert and possible hacker on the field. So get ready Ensign!"

"Yes, sir!" Tali saluted as she scrambled to find her helmet as Adams followed her.

She fidgeted as she opened up her locker to pull out a large helmet with a glass visor that showed her eyes and face. She had a difficult time snapping it on when Adam took over to help the young woman. "Calm down Tali, you'll do just fine."

Tali smiled as the last snap was put in place as she pulled a purple cloth over the back of the helmet, "Maybe, but I wasn't expecting to be doing field work so soon."

"Well they will always keep you on your toes, but trust me, you can do this, and you have some good people watching your back," Adams smiled trying to reassure the young woman.

"Thank you, Chief. I won't let you down," Tali saluted before she walked towards the elevator with a confident step.

Tali did not hear Adams say, "Stay safe," to her as she walked into the elevator. All she heard was the closing of doors, and the rapid descend to Deck 4 where she saw the Captain waiting.

The Captain stared at the scared girl before asking, "I'll trust you have personal weapons?"

"Yes sir, I'll just need to get them out of the locker to modify them," Tali stammered.

"Then snap to it," John ordered, and Tali immediately followed suit as she went to a workbench.

She pulled out two weapons. One was the Geth Plasma Shotgun, a geth looking shotgun that can fire at three points at once. The second was the Arc Pistol, a slick pistol that shoots electrical charge bullets enhanced by the disrupter rounds she added to the program of both her weapons. She quickly got to work as Commander Jane Shepard looked over with a comforting smile as she picked up her weapons.

"Don't be nervous, my brother may seem stern, but he'll make sure you get through this alive," Jane stated with a small smile.

"Thank you, Commander," Tali nervously replied.

"Call me Jane, Tali. Commander makes me feel old," Jane giggled in response.

"Yes Jane," Tali nodded as she looked at her weapons at the workstation. "Do you have any recommendation? I didn't expect to be in the field so soon after graduating."

"I suggest you stick to the standards, like extended barrel and piercing slash shredder mods to increase damage from your weapons, especially against armored targets. Stability damper and smart choke for pistols and shotguns to improve accuracy. A thermal clip capacity upgrades to increase the thermal coolant ability to increase the number of times you can fire in rapid succession before you need to reload. And a standard melee weapon to keep your weapons from being too heavy and something to engage at close range. In this case a melee stunner for the pistol and a bayonet for the shotgun.

"Scopes are only useful for rifles design to for medium or long-range attacks. For rapid-fire or short-range weapons, best to stick to stability dampers slash smart chokes. Making the weapon lighter is only useful for heavier weapons and the user is a power user who uses power amplifiers. Other types of specialization technology are best left to the decision of an expert, such as heat sinkers or heavy types that increase accuracy and power of the weapon at the cost of weight," Jane explained, and Tali nodded as she quickly got to work.

However, her work did not stop Tali from asking questions, "Is this common for all soldiers in the CAW?"

"Only for elite soldiers or officers, otherwise it's just extended barrel, bayonet and scope slash stability dampers slash chokers for soldiers. Some of these specialized loadouts aren't given to N Special Forces below N5. Just think of it as a perk of being recruited into the First Battalion," Jane explained with a small smile as Tali finished her modification before the two headed to the hanger door.

There, the chubby face sergeant with blue eyes was examining his heavy M-55 Argus assault rifle, "Finally, I'm going to see some action. Hopefully, this will be the end of guard duty on this ship!"

"We'll see if you remain happy when you see so much death that it upsets your stomach Sergeant Jenkins," John added as he turned towards the Admiral waiting for them.

"Remember your objective is to secure Urdnot, Wrex, and the Beacon while keeping an eye out for this unknown enemy," Anderson told his men as they nodded in acceptance.

It was then that Joker reported, " _Were approaching Nihlus's drop point_. _Man, it's a mess out there_."

Jane was surprised as she turned to see Nihlus, small, yet heavy M-11 Wraith shotgun as he put up his heavy, turian style Krysae Sniper Rifle. A powerful sniper rifle that fired exploding harpoon rounds. "You're not coming with us?"

"I move faster on my own," Nihlus stated as he ran out of the ship.

"Nihlus will scout out ahead and give reports on narrow beam communication that should cut through the interference. Otherwise, I want you on radio silence," Anderson ordered.

"We've got this!" brother and sister reported at the same time.

"The mission belongs to both of you, Shepards. Good luck," Anderson nodded before they had reached the second drop zone. Both teams ran out of the ship and went their separate ways once they hit the ground.

**Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime: Team 1**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

On the planet below, chaos descended off in the distance as John and his four-man team walked across the field to see bodies of civilians laid on the ground. Jenkins gasped as he stated, "My God. What happened here?"

John pulled out his omni-tool to scan the corpses to exclaim, "This is odd, several of the people were killed by melee weapons, while others were killed by unknown weapons that seemed to fire a beam of needle bullets similar to geth weapons, but with more power."

"That suggests it's not any of the various warlords found in the Terminus Systems or the Batarians, but someone else with very advanced weaponry," Tali gasped.

"Who could have done this?" asked Valenna.

"Let's find out!" John suggested as they moved forward at a slow pace, ready for anything.

Every second was agonizing as they found no enemy units, only native life forms known as gasbags, bloated creatures that made popping sounds as they floated along. The team was stiff as they approached a ledge when they heard movement in the crunching of grass. Thinking they finally met the enemy, John ordered Jenkins to approach the area with a subtle gesture. Jenkins nodded as he moved on ahead as the other three followed with caution.

Jenkins looked over the edge, hoping to find the enemy and find some action when he saw nothing in the field ahead. He should have looked up as a creature that looked like a short, green goblin in a black, organic armor jumped on top of him. Jenkins screamed as the monster raised his sword high and brought it down, again and again, three times before his shield broke and the beast stabbed Jenkins in the neck.

Jenkins fell to the ground as the creature slowly raised up to face them with blank eyes. A creature they recognized as Velanna raised up her sniper rifle and yelled, "Darkspawn!" before putting three bullets into the goblin's head. One of many that appeared as several human looking darkspawn called grunts came into view as goblins and grunts decloaked. Tali quickly as her Geth Plasma Shotgun killed one close by while John cut one down with his dual omni-blade. A few grunts did not like it as they took aim with organic looking rifles, only to be jammed with a wave from a glowing omni-tool in Tali's hand.

Meanwhile, John wasted no time in firing with his semi-automatic M-96 Murdock to kill two of the darkspawn while using a biotic warp to destroy a third. While Velanna concentrated her energies on creating a toxic field in the center of the approaching horde. The horde firing on her began coughing widely as the acidic vapor entered their throat. Only to be relieved when Tali'Zorah fired an incendiary blast from her omni-tool into the horde to create an explosion that killed most of the darkspawn. That left the last darkspawn to be killed by a strike into the head by Velanna's vine whip formed from her free hand.

The crackling sound of the broken skull was the relief they needed to hear to know the battle was over, they had won, and John knew who to congratulate, "Good job Ensign. Your quick thinking got us through this ambush swimmingly well."

"Thank you, sir," Tali answered with a smile as Velanna examined Jenkins before looking up with a sad face that conveys that he was beyond help for he was already dead.

Seeing that face, John shook his head to state, "We'll worry about his body later; right now we have a mission to finish."

Velanna nodded stiffly as she turned over the darkspawn to do a scan to find something of interest, "Sir… I'm picking up a larger number of implants in the darkspawn, and I can't tell you half the things it does. I'm sending it to Cortona and Eliza now."

"Wonderful, so we're dealing with darkspawn with advanced technology. This is not our day," John had sighed as he pulled up his omni-tool to contact his sister and the SPECTRE, "Jane, Nihlus, heads up. I've identified the enemy. It is darkspawn."

" _Tell me something I don't know!_ " yelled a familiar female voice on the other side of their comms.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime: Team 2**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

"Tell me something I don't know?" Jane yelled as she sent out a lightning pulse to send another wave of fire into a horde of darkspawn heading her way.

Her team made quick work of the thin body, amphibian looking darkspawn that appeared around her. Their shields, while strong were not able to handle the power attacks from her team. Soon the sound of battle ended as she wiped some blood off her tomahawk as she reported, "We've encountered some darkspawn as well, vrog subclass to be specific."

" _So with the grunt and goblin types, makes human and salarian darkspawn types so far. Looks like we've found our attackers_ ," John told his sister through the comm.

"Looks like it but I have never seen weapons like this before," Jane stated as she tried to pick up the organic looking sniper rifle.

Just before it disintegrates within her hand as she jumped up in shock. She looked around to see the darkspawn's armor was also falling apart as her team tried to scan as much as they could. Jane snarled as she stated, "Don't bother trying to salvage it. Looks like it has a self-destruct mechanism when its users die."

" _Yet it was not fast enough to prevent me from analyzing the shit out of your scans,_ " Cortona added through the ship. " _Not that I can tell you much, except not only is the armor organic, but I've found several implants along its body. I can't determine what all of them are, but a few of them are similar to slave implants that Batarian backed slavers are known to use to keep their slaves obedient; along with general enhancements to make them stronger, faster and generally more dangerous._ "

" _Someone is controlling them and more dangerous? Well, that's just great!_ " John snarled. " _The Darkspawn War cost us nearly two billion humans, krogans, geth and quarians when they were just organized animals. Someone controlling them will just make our job harder._ "

Jane sighed as she asked through the comm, "You got all this Nihlus?"

" _I have and scouting out darkspawn camps. After we get the Beacon, we'll search for evidence on who is controlling them_ ," Nihlus reported, and Jane nodded along.

" _Sounds like a plan_ ," John added through the comm for a brief pause before adding another brief thought. " _We'll be heading out now. Tali just download a map for us to use since our guide did not survive our first encounter against the darkspawn._ "

"Jenkins is dead!" Jane almost yelled as her body shook.

" _Yes he's dead, but we'll worry about that later. We've got a mission to complete_ ," John stated through the transmutation.

Jane quivered as she stated, "I hear you, and we're moving out. Jane out."

Jane disconnected the comm before she looked at her subordinates, "Come on, we've got a mission to complete. Let's step on it."

Her fellow soldiers nodded as they headed out into the field, their weapons ready for a long haul. Off in the distance, an old krogan was singing war songs to rally his men, while a First-Class Lieutenant was running for her life. The Battle for Eden Prime had just begun.

**Character Stats**

Name and Rank: Supreme Commander Urdnot, Wrex

Species: krogan

Class: Vanguard (biotic)

Special: can fall into a berserker mode in combat

Melee Weapon: biotic mace

Grenades: lift grenade

Kinetic Weapons: Striker Assault Rifle (heavy barrel), Graal Spike Thrower (heavy barrel), and Blood Pack Punisher (heavy barrel)

Ammo: warp rounds

Next

Name and Rank: SPECTRE Nihlus Kryik

Species: turian

Class: Hypnotist (tech)

Melee Weapons: electrical omni-blade

Kinetic Weapons: M-11 Wraith, M-77 Paladin, and Krysae Sniper Rifle

Ammo: cryo rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Lieutenant 1st Class Ashley Williams (N6)

Species: human

Class: Marksman (soldier)

Melee Weapon: omni-blade

Grenades: frag grenades

Kinetic Weapons: M-96 Mattock (heavy barrel), M-3 Phalanx, & Black Widow (heavy barrel & thermal scope)

Ammo: drill rounds

Next

Name and Rank: Ensign Tali'Zorah nar Normandy

Species: quarian

Class: Combat Engineer (tech)

Melee Weapon: monomolecular bladed knife

Grenades: arc grenade

Kinetic Weapons: Arc Pistol & Geth Plasma Shotgun

Ammo: disruptor ammo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done with this chapter; it wasn't as long as the first, but I felt it was an excellent place to stop for Eden Prime is going to be longer then I planned. Stay tuned to a computer near you for the next chapter. Also, sorry for the delay, it would have been two months ago, but my Beta Reader is having technical difficulty and trying to catch up with several chapters work. Along with studying and several jobs, updates will be slow


	3. Eden Prime Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Those are owned by Bioware, and I am currently waiting to see if EA has drained their soul yet.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/05/2018

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime: Team 1**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Eden Prime, once a vibrant green world had turned into a world of smoke and fire as fighting broke out across the entire planet. The invading darkspawn were terrible creatures that killed any living being they met. Though their targets were not going to make it easy as John, Velanna and Tali crossed through the darken field to a planetary computer connected by harden landlines spread across the planet. The quarian quickly went to work while being defended by the human and elf that were her commanders.

She was working to break through the interference to open a line of communication. It was a difficult battle as Tali yelled out, "Give me a minute as I work on the console."

"We've got your back Ensign," John ordered as he got into position as he looked at his partner, who closed her eyes. "Are you sensing anyone coming."

Velanna nodded as she opened her eyes, "Darkspawn coming in fast. Our HUDs (heads up display) will be able to pick them up now."

A bleep soon appeared on John's eyepiece as eight targets appeared, and they were coming in fast. "It must be war dogs. They're the only darkspawn that is that fast on land and remain cloaked." Tali stiffened in the admission of danger as the HUD identified the targets but with some interesting results. "No, five of them are war dogs, and the other three are unknown."

"How soon will they get here?" Tali asked as she trembled in fear.

"Now," John had stated as the darkspawn came into sight.

All darkspawn are based off known species corrupted into nightmarish creatures. War dogs are corrupted forms of quarians forced into the forms of werewolves with their long muzzle as they ran on all fours. They were fierce, terrible killers that few could keep up with during a chase. However, they were less dangerous compared to these tall new corrupted humanoid beasts with four arms, eights eyes and a bottom half that looked like the body of a spider. Monsters well equipped that can either be four swords, four pistols or two shotguns to go along with their sharp teeth.

They were going to be a nightmare in close quarters combat, so Velanna wasted no time to take out these new threats as she pulled out a sniper rifle and fired off three successful shots into one of the spiders head. Causing it to collapse on the field as John opened fired on the darkspawn rushing towards him, killing three war dogs. In response, one of the war dogs got up onto its hind legs, pulled out an assault rifle with its three-digit pawed hands and opened fire with a stream of bullets. This forced John and Valenna to take cover as the war hound fired suppressive fire as the spider-like darkspawn with four pistols joined in. Tali let out a squeak of fear as she jumped behind a desk to hide from a second war dog with strong kinetic barriers as it had opened fire on her.

She quivered as she worked her omni-tool program to create a holographic drone to help her while she kept working on the computer. The drone flew fast away from Tali and towards its target with advanced programming to attack the two darkspawn attacking John and Velanna. It fired off a jolt of overloading electricity to cause the two darkspawn to jump back and allow the elf and human to fight back. Velanna took advantage as she fired off a paralyzing field to hold the two in place, while John used the omni-tool incinerated ability on the creature, causing its armor to combust. The war dog quickly fell to the ground dead as the spider-like darkspawn tried to escape. Try being the key word as Velanna set-up its downfall while John concentrated on the shielded war dog, using the overload ability to drain the shield's power before firing on it to wear down its shield.

As John wore down his target's shields, Velanna struck the spider-like darkspawn with powerful hexes so that a second electrical strike from the quarian's drone that while less lethal then overload, was enough to fatally electrocute the darkspawn. Tali celebrated her kill as John had downed the second darkspawn the same time Velanna has killed hers. Though it seemed they forgot that there was another darkspawn to watch out for as the spider-like darkspawn appeared in front of John, its swords raised to cut John down. John dropped and rolled away from the darkspawn, barely avoiding the strike as he moved to get some distance between him and his attacker.

Distance John used to recover quickly as he got to his feet and rush the darkspawn. The two dashed towards each other as John developed an orange omni-blade in each hand. The darkspawn slashed down and hit John's kinetic barriers. It held for a second before it broke, but that was all the time John needed to strike the darkspawn right in its chest with his omni-blades. The darkspawn barely scratch the armor before it becomes too weak to move. John's shield quickly recharged as he deactivated his omni-blades, allowing the darkspawn to fall to the ground, dead.

With the darkspawn dead, Tali stared in awe at her commander's skill until John yelled out, "Get back to work Ensign! I want to know where Wrex is now!"

"Yes, sir!" Tali chirped as she went back to work while John and Velanna examined the new darkspawn.

Her omni-tools sensors took DNA samples to find a familiar species as John snarled, "Batarians! Of course, the darkspawn that we've never seen before would be made from batarians."

Velanna glared at the corpse when a revelation hit her, "Do you think whoever is controlling the darkspawn helped the batarians attack Terra Nova and…?"

"And betrayed them once they were no longer useful, yes that seems likely. Especially if it will force our fleet to hunt for them, leaving Eden Prime vulnerable to attack as we look for threats at the edge of the Exodus Cluster," John clicked as he opened a comm to the ship, " _Normandy_ and fellow ground teams, we have encountered a new darkspawn type created by what looks like batarians. Sending data collected along with vocal notes made by Velanna and me."

" _Right, we're processing the data, and all we're missing is a name for this subclass, and since you encountered them, you get to name them!_ " Cortona chirped through the comm.

"Arachnoids," John stated, and Cortona uploads the codex.

" _Got it Captain and I'm in the process of turning it into a codex to be sent to the entire galaxy to view_. _It should be uploaded now,_ " Cortona stated before Anderson took over to ask his subordinate a vital question.

" _John, how close are you to finding Wrex?_ "

John was about to retort when Tali yelled, "I've got him. His last report stated he was helping the military defend a Geth server some three clicks away."

John nodded as he reported, "We are going to him now. I'll report if I succeed or fail to find him, John out."

John then ended the transmission as he watched Tali get up with her shotgun out as he pulled out his pistol and submachine gun. Without saying a word, the three headed out to Wrex's last location.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime: Team 2**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Out in the field, Jane's team blazed through grassy rock lands of Eden Prime, finding only a few darkspawn scouts to fight. That was until they came upon a quarry where they observed a woman running for her life. She had every reason to flee as following her were thin bodied, elfish darkspawn that resembled the alien from the old human movie ' _Alien._ ' Though instead of a bulging head or the second mouth, it had spiked gauntlets that were deadlier than its claws. This particular darkspawn known as shrieks were gaining ground on the lieutenant until Ashley Williams slumped down to the ground and pulled out her small, blue M-3 Phalanx pistol and opened fire in rapid succession, killing the two shrieks with pinpoint accuracy that would leave most envious.

Though it was only a half measure as it brought the young woman to the attention of others; specifically, darkspawn grunts holding a soldier over a large platform. While a hulking alpha grunt in thick armor smiled sadistically behind its horned helmet as it looked at the struggling soldier. Ashley knew what was going to happen as fear spread onto her quivering lips. That was no warning when a spike went through the man's chest that raised the soldier up much like the victims of Vlad the Impaler. Ashley gave a silent scream as she ran behind some rocks, ready to fight a last stand as she pulled out her M-96 Mattock.

A stand she would not need the moment she heard explosions and darkspawn screaming in pain from behind. Ashley looked over the corner to see several explosions within the darkspawn's lines, and they just kept coming. So Ashley looked up to see a krogan with black/reddish armor firing explosive rounds from his M-37 Falcon into the horde of darkspawn while a blue and silver geth sniped targets with its Javelin sniper rifle. Ashley felt relief as she saw two humans run to her location, close enough for her HUD to identify the four soldiers that were coming to her aid. When she saw the names of her saviors, she felt rejuvenated as she yelled out a war cry and joined her saviors in the field of battle.

Commander Jane Shepard and Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko hit hard and quick through what remained of the darkspawn lines, ready to hit the alpha when they were intercepted by shielded enemies. Jane went against a mage darkspawn type while Kaidan went up against a darkspawn that was a biotic. Jane stopped to use a telekinesis pull to slam a rock into the darkspawn, but it avoided the object and retaliated with lightning based energy manipulations mages can do. Jane responded with a more powerful lightning attack that forced the current flow of electricity back towards the darkspawn who screamed in shock. Lightning soon danced around and took down the creature's shield. The darkspawn was not ready for Jane to freeze the beast before crushing it with her telekinesis to destroy the mage subtype while Kaidan took care of his opponent.

Kaidan's opponent was a vanguard type as it sent a biotic charge at Kaidan and readied to fire his shotgun, but Kaidan was quicker as he pulled out his N7 Crusader and opened fire at point blank. Forcing the darkspawn to stumble back from the blow, Kaidan then used overload to finish off its shield, just before hitting it with a biotic warp to break open its armor. The darkspawn stumbled back, clutching its chest as it looked up to see Kaidan's shotgun pointed at it just before the human blew its head off, ending the lieutenant of a pissed off alpha darkspawn.

An alpha that was willing to ending the lives of its enemy, no matter the cost. As it pulled out a grenade to throw at them when it noticed another grenade rolling-up to its feet. The frag grenade exploded, taking out its shields and caused the plasma grenade in its hand to explode, incinerating its entire arm in the process. The darkspawn howled in pain as it turned to the one responsible for blowing off its arm when it saw Ashley William come up with her assault rifle. It gave one defiant howl before Ashley shot it three times in the head; it was killed by the third shot.

Leaderless, the renaming darkspawn were soon wiped out to the last creature by the well-oiled team. In the end, the only thing left was Jane's team and Lieutenant Ashley William. As the only living thing within the quarry as they faced each other. Guns ready for an ambush as Ashley introduced herself, "Lieutenant First Class Ashley Williams, commander of what is left of the two-twelfth infantry, are you the one in charge ma'am."

"Of this team, yes," Jane stated as she looked at the woman. "Are you hurt Williams?"

"Just a few scrapes and burns," Ashley said solemnly. "The rest of my men were not so lucky."

"What happened Lieutenant?" Kaidan asked the young, solemn woman, who gave them an answer.

"We were out on patrol, making sure no one got too close to the dig site where we held this classified artifact."

"The Prothean Beacon?" Trex asked Ashely.

"Yes," Ashley acknowledged with a nod. "We were keeping people away from the Prothean Beacon when the attack happened. Realizing the enemy was jamming our communication, we set up a narrow beamed communication line to contact command. We were then ordered to hold a communication station, send an S.O.S. and defend it as long as we could."

"We saw that when we intercepted your cries for help," Trex said with a grim face.

"We held on as long as we could, but I knew it was a lost cause, so I ordered a retreat. Sadly, it came too late," Ashley added with almost a tear falling from her face. "We were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and when I saw the last soldier under my command die, I ran and ran until I ran into you. And now I'm all that's left."

Jane grabbed onto the woman's shoulder to state, "There was no way you could have avoided this."

"Yes ma'am," Ashley stated solemnly, conveying that she was not convinced of it herself.

Jane was about to ask the woman questions when she was interrupted by Nihlus through their comms, " _Jane, Nihlus here. I'm at the dig site, and there are a lot of bodies up here. But I don't see the Beacon or any enemy movements. I think the enemy has moved the Beacon._ "

Jane was about to question where when Ashley stated, "Maybe not ma'am, sir. We were moving the Beacon to the spaceport for extraction when the attack happened. Perhaps it's still at the spaceport."

"Any chance of survivors there as well?" Kaidan asked Ashley who looked too scared to be hopeful.

"Perhaps," Ashley reluctantly admitted. "The two-twenty-fifth infantry was protecting the workers and scientist in the area. Perhaps their unit fared better than mine, but I doubt it."

Jane nodded as she asked through the comms, "You got that Nihlus."

" _Yes, and I see the spaceport up ahead, I'll meet you there_ ," the turian reported before communication was cut.

Jane then looked to Ashley to state, "Come with us, we could use your help."

"Aye-aye ma'am," Ashley stated with a grin on her face. "It's time for payback."

Jane, feeling a sense of déjà vu with the woman nodded as she ordered her men too, "Move out!"

Ashley nodded in compliance as the five-man squad moved forward to the spaceport and dig site up ahead, starting a chain reaction that will end in the death of a comrade.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime/Eden Prime/Geth Server 7**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Within a flat grassland was the entrance to an underground bunker/cave that held one of several Geth Servers found on Eden Prime. It was defended by a shield generator, machine guns, turrets and the only cover within a kilometer served as a perfect place for the server's defenders. Defenders that include soldiers in camouflage armor and geth troops of all types, including the thin hoppers, hovering rectangular bombers and the hulking four-legged armatures that resembles a silver brachiosaurus with a turret for a head. They were in perfect position to defend from the wave after wave of darkspawn that descended on them.

Automated and manned machine guns fired on the approaching horde as the ground soon was littered with corpses, but that did not slow them down or make them less dangerous as new trouble came from the sky. Avians, the corrupted forms of turians, were terrible creatures that resembled a feathered version of pterodactyls that swooped in to get their prey from the clouds in the sky. The defenders were able to kill a number of them as they swooped down like birds of preys. The defenders were still being overrun as the avians high numbers allow a few to survive long enough to pick off many defenders with their razor-sharp claws on their feet.

One such avian saw a hulking krogan in blackish red armor and made a dive towards him with open claws. Only for the scared krogan to pull a small, hulking shotgun with eight mini-heavy barrels attached and open fire at point blank. Wrex laughed at the creature's splattered remains as he pulled out a life grenade and threw it far into the approaching horde lines. Most began to float as those nonaffected tried to pass them but ultimately failed. Wrex threw a biotic warp to detonate the dark energy, killing most of the darkspawn and weaken the few biotic, mage and tech darkspawn allowing them to be picked off by his fellow soldiers. He then gave an infectious grin as he swapped his shotgun with a Striker Assault Rifle and fired into the horde with biotic warp rounds that shredded material on contact. Pushing the darkspawn back, giving the others room to reinforce the line.

Wrex cheered in excitement but only for a moment before the horde renewed their attack as a new squad of avians assaulted the line. An assault led by a master flyer, alpha of the group that was also a mage. With a flap of its wings, the darkspawn summoned a tornado of fire into the group of two krogans, a geth shock trooper, and a human. Wrex watched in anger as the two krogans, and single geth were consumed in the fire while the human fell back in pain. Only for the master flyer avian grabbed onto the human and lifted him high into the air. Before ending the human's life mid-flight with a squeeze of its claws before letting the human fall in front of Wrex. Almost like it was giving Wrex a challenge as it threw down what some can consider it to be a bloody gauntlet.

One Wrex responded by yelling, "Kill that avian!"

His men responded while opening fire on the darkspawn, but it avoided most of the attacks while its shield absorbs the few lucky hits while the other members of the darkspawn horde made significant headway against the defenders. Wrex was worried the line would break when he heard gunfire off in the distance. He turned to see a team was attacking from behind the lines.

A team he recognized as he gave a deep laugh, "Looks like the grandchild of Alice McCoy is here to have fun! Ah, the good old days!" Wrex lamented before he too joined the battle.

Behind the line, John was leading the charge with his highly accurate, rapid submachine gun and pistol. He fired into the horde, killing darkspawn with three to four shots while using biotic push to send them flying away. Giving the room for Velanna with her N7 Eagle Pistol, to lead the attack as the darkspawn found out the hard way as she summoned entropy created leaches to swarm over several ground units and excrete toxins. The sight of the witch made Tali freak out as she shot the darkspawn with her arc pistol. She watched the darkspawn fall down in silence as Tali stared at the bite marks and electrical burns from her pistol's electric ammunition. Tali nervously followed the elf as she pulled out a defense drone and combat drone to cover both the engineer and mage.

Velanna was taking advantage of such defense as she was drawing attention when she manipulated her environment. Plants mutated and grew into thorny vines that wrapped around the necks of unshielded darkspawn while others felt sleepy as they entered into a nightmare they would not wake from. It was not long before several darkspawn gave a satisfying crunch while others were rolling on the ground, shaking to death. This caused the avians to divert their attention towards the new threats, Team 1 of the _CSS Normandy_.

Just as John wanted as he yelled out, "Now!"

With the order given, Velanna manipulated the air above their head into a highly-corrosive explosive gas that was in the flight path of a squad of avians. The darkspawn did not slow down as they entered into the gas, just as planned as John used his omni-tool to launch a plump of plasma from the incinerate program into the cloud, causing it to ignite. Immediately, several of the darkspawn were incinerated as they came crashing down, leaving only the master flyer avian to come out unscathed as its kinetic barriers took the brunt of the attack.

Pissed and out for revenge, the darkspawn turned its attention towards Velanna and fired off a fireball. Velanna powerful shields took the brunt of the attack. It was barely held up as the avian swooped down to attack Velanna, its claws poised to strike the woman who did not look the least bit scared. The darkspawn found out why when Tali's holographic defense drone intercepted and detonated in front of the avian, taking out its shields and forcing it staggering back.

Right into Tali's line of sight as she used her engineer omni-tool to fire off a cryo-blast of chemicals right into its back, causing it to freeze over and fall out of the sky. It landed head first on the ground, in an undignified position. It twitched and shivered from the cold as Tali finished it off with her omni-tool incinerate program, The sudden heat caused a violent reaction to cryo-freeze it due to the rapid change of temperature and chunks flew everywhere.

Tali gave a great whoop of excitement as she exclaimed, "Did you see that?"

John saw the darkspawn line disperse and he felt proud for Tali as he softly said to himself, "Good job Ensign. You did an excellent job," John added as he watched the darkspawn runaway.

He was not paying attention to the darkspawn class shriek that snuck up from behind, its blades ready to bear down on John. John noticed the shadow behind him, and it would have been too late for him if a krogan had not sent a biotic charge into the shriek. The darkspawn slammed in the ground, unmoving as a massive krogan stood over the human he just saved as John turned to face the scared krogan. A krogan he recognized as the man chuckled before him, in his deep krogan voice.

"I thought I was the one going to be rescued, not the other way around, aye Captain?" the red krogan stated as his green eyes glinted with merriment.

"I guess there are always exceptions to the rules, are you Urdnot, Wrex?" John asked the krogan who smiled in response.

"Yes I am, and you must be the proud Captain John Shepard, a human after my heart," Wrex laughed in excitement.

"You know me?" John asked.

"Oh yes, in fact, I was in a discussion about you and your sister a few hours before everything went to, as the humans would put it, to hell," Wrex laughed before he moved into more serious matters. "I assume that if you're here, then your sister is going to retrieve the Beacon while you came here to end my fun."

"Yes, we have orders to escort you to safety," John stated as he waved Velanna and Tali towards him.

"Well, that is interesting for I will need your team for a more important mission," Wrex grinned as John raised an eyebrow while Velanna voiced her disagreement.

"Sir, we have orders to escort you to safety. We can't afford to bring you into harm's way," Velanna pointed out with a nervous twitch as Wrex stared at the woman.

"That would be true if you didn't know what I know," Wrex stated. "Above our heads are a series of defense satellites under control by the enemy."

"What do you mean control. I thought the satellites were just deactivated when our ship passed by them and they were not responsive," Velanna pointed out with a nervous cough.

"Deactivated only because your ship's stealth system was activated," Wrex stated much to the shock. "Otherwise, your ship will suffer the same fate our reinforcements will face if the darkspawn have continued control of one of our satellites stations on the surface."

"That will kill thousands, if not tens of thousands if they activate them when one of our Fleets arrives. We can't allow that to happen," Velanna muttered in quiet shock.

"I assume you have a plan to save the fleet?" John asked.

"You got it right on the mark. I know the perfect way to get there while avoiding the majority of the horde," Wrex pointed out. "Assuming, of course, your quarian is a skilled hacker."

"Tali?" John asked the young woman.

"I think I can hack it, I just need time," Tali reported with a nervous smile.

"Are you sure?" Wrex looked at Tali who began to sweat under the stare until John defended the girl.

"I can bet my life on it," John told Wrex with conviction. "We just need to get there. Though, even if we fail, we can also warn the fleet through the _Normandy._ So they will be prepared for such an attack."

"Then let's have it done," Wrex stated as he loaded his shotgun. "You lead, and I'll follow."

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime/Dig Site: Team 2**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Deep within a camp of metal cargo trailers, that had surrounded the dig site Jane's five-man team had arrived. Their guns were out as they approached the dig site ready for the worst to come. Yet it was empty, nothing but spikes as they came upon a field. Not a single darkspawn was in sight.

"I don't like this, it is too quiet," Trex grumbled as he gripped his shotgun.

"Keep your eyes open," Kaidan advised as they approached the dig site when they noticed off in the distance, more spikes similar to the one on which a poor man now hung.

"More spikes? Why would the darkspawn impale their victims instead of eating them, Ma'am?" Ashley asked.

"I don't know Ash, but the victims don't look human anymore," Jane stated as she looked up to the cybernetically modified human. Nothing organic remained of bluish black corpses that hung overhead. They looked more like zombie robots than people as the group slowly approached them to get a better look. All seemed silent until the spike descended quickly to the ground, lowering the corpse, only for the team to realize it was moving as it pushed itself off the cylindrical platform.

"My god, they are still alive," Kaidan exclaimed in shock as the creature rose to its feet.

"What did the darkspawn do to them?" Ashley practically screamed as the creature stared at them.

It starred at them with soulless eyes before it screamed and charged as Jane used a burst of wind to send it tumbling to the ground. She put two bullets into the cybernetic zombie just before it exploded. It caused a chain reaction as over a dozen more spikes to let them down, releasing over a dozen more walking corpses.

Seeing the approaching horde, Jane yelled out, "Everyone, open fire!"

Jane did not need to order her men a second time as they responded with gunfire. They caught half of them in streams of bullets as they tried to gain their bearing. However, the other half was able to come to and ran to avoid the bullets, moving in zigzag formations to avoid being shot. This caused the team to be creative to get the running zombies. Ashley had to take the time to fire a concussion round to knock one into another before finishing them off with a burst of fire.

The others were taken down by methods that were even more creative. Legion used an electrical chin overload to stop two of the running husks before gunning them down with a Geth Pulse Rifle, while Trex fired off an explosive mine made from a grenade right in front of the cybernetic undead. The explosion was the backdrop to another husk being smashed into the rock due to Kaidan's biotic push as three of the cybernetic zombies got closer to the combat squad. They would not make it far when Ashley opened fire, causing two to explode as a third leaped into the air towards Jane. Jane quickly responded with a shotgun and with a 'bang' sent the zombie flying back with a hole in its midsection.

With the dead now staying dead, Jane directed Legion-VII to examine the spikes as Jane and Kaidan examined the robotic zombies while Trex and Ashley stood guard. It only took a few seconds for Kaidan to gasp out loud, "There is nothing organic left. All of it has been replaced by cybernetics. Even the skin and bone are synthetic."

"To go that far is disturbing," Trex commented stated before he kicked over a corpse. "Why would they go that far just to have shock troops?"

"I'm more concerned about where they got the material to make these things, LTs, ma'am," Ashley stated in a calm tone that had her all but salute to them.

"It's Jane, Ash," Jane Shepard sighed as she looked at Legion as it clicked out its report.

"Shepard-Commander, the fluid from the victims is gathered within these spikes, and nanoprobes repurpose the body into shock troops."

"Creating these husks as disposable troops that are raised from the dead much like the story of the Dragon's Teeth," Jane stated as she opened a transmission. "Nihlus, Anderson, do you read me. I'm sending you tactical data on new targets of interest, Codename 'husks' and 'Dragons' Teeth.'

" _I have seen them all over the spaceport, I'm taking them out now_ ," Nihlus reported over the comms. The group soon heard the explosions from a Krysae Sniper Rifle off in a distance while Anderson gave an acknowledgment before he explained the situation.

" _We've been able to reestablish communication with the ground forces on the planet and passed on the information as well as your codenames Commander. The General was surprised to find out the spikes were more than just physiological attacks. It apparently takes a few hours for our dead to become husks. He is issuing a destroy on sight order for all husks and Dragons' Teeth_."

"I read you, Anderson, Trex, and Legion-VII will begin implanting the explosives now," Jane reported as Trex developed a big grin under his helmet as he went to work planting explosives. "We'll meet up with Nihlus at the spaceport, Jane out."

Jane cut transmission when she heard a muffled sound from one of the containers up ahead. Knowing they were not alone, Jane looked at Ashley and Kaidan backup. While Legion-VII remained in support as Trex continued to plant explosives. They came up to a door to see it was locked. Jane quickly got to work on the lock, and she unlocked the doors.

She opened them, ready to fight when she heard a woman yell, "Don't shoot, we are unarmed."

The group had lowered their weapons to see two human scientists and half a dozen farmers, a mix of humans and small krogans approached them with caution. One of the scientists, a male stepped forward, requesting they close the door, "Hurry, close the door before they get us."

"It's alright, we've taken care of them, you're safe now," Jane reassured the group who sighed in relief.

"Thank you; I don't know what would happen if you hadn't come through," the female scientist bowed. "My name is Dr. Warren, and I was one of the scientists here at the dig site with my assistant Manuel here. We were examining the site when the attack came. The marines that were guarding us got the nearby farmers and us to safety, as they held off the darkspawn. They gave their lives to ensure we got to safety."

"No one is safe; the end of the Confederation, the Council, and all life is upon us. Soon only ruin, and corpses will remain," the scientist Manuel practically screamed when a disgruntled krogan gently picked up the man and set him aside.

"Okay that's enough doom and gloom for you, we don't need another insane rant," the krogan stated as he put him to bed.

"Is it insane to see the future and to declare that doom and destruction are rushing towards us? To understand that there is no escape and that there is no hope for anything. No, I am not mad. I'm the only sane man to see that we've awakened the beast that will kill us all," Manuel stated with a quiver.

"Beast? You mean the darkspawn?" Kaidan asked with a raised eyebrow as Manuel shook his head no.

"The darkspawn are only a sample of things to come. Something far worst comes from the shadows to show how insignificant we all are," Manuel quivered before he was dragged to his room by the krogan to put him out of sight, and out of mind.

Seeing Manuel pushed out of the conversation, Dr. Warren took over to state, "Sorry about that, Manuel has a brilliant mind, but it has always been unstable. It's only been made worst since we found well…"

"You mean the Beacon?" Jane asked.

"Yes," Dr. Warren stammered as she looked at the farmers nervously but just could not stop as she blabbed. "It was an amazing discovery. An intact Prothean Beacon, who knows what secrets, lay hidden within it."

"Which probably means that was why they attacked us," one of the farmers grumbled.

"And you are?" Jane asked the farmer.

"I'm Cole, we were in the field when we were herded to safety, we saw the huge ship descend towards the spaceport when we ran to safety," Cole told the Marines before him. "It was admitting some kind of signal as it descended. Sounded like the shriek of the damned. Only, it was coming inside our head. It almost made it impossible to think."

Jane looked at Kaidan to ask, "Do you think it could have been jamming technology?"

"I don't know any that would admit that kind of frequency, though I also don't know what else it could be," Kaidan stated.

"We'll soon find out once we get closer. We should go," Jane advised, ready to leave.

Though they stopped, as one of the farmers looked nervous as he turned to Cole to state, "Hey Cole, we are just farmers. Maybe we should give them the stuff."

"Geez Blake, you need to learn to keep your mouth quiet," Cole advised with a snarl.

Jane, however, went into interrogation mode as she stated, "You want to come clean, Cole."

"Some of the people at the spaceports were running a small smuggling ring. It was nothing major. In exchange for a small cut of the profits, we allow them to store packages in our shed."

"Smuggling is illegal on Eden Prime, and if any of it is military tech, I have the right to arrest you for five to twenty years depending on the level of technology," Ashley accused them. "In fact, I should arrest you right now."

"No one arresting anyone right now, especially if Cole would be kind enough to tell me who his contact is and hand over any tech he has on hand."

"Yes, and hang on," Cole nervously swallowed as pulled out a box and opened it to show it was an asari shotgun, the Disciple.

She pulled-up the odd shaped, yet pleasing white and purple shotgun to her eye level. A small shotgun fitted for the all-female asari race. A race that had emphasized their soldiers was trained as commandoes over simple soldiers. In addition, like their commandoes, the shotgun was small, but a powerful long-range weapon Jane wanted it as she traded the asari shotgun for her old model. After she swapped her shotguns upgrades using a workstation nearby. She was done within seconds thanks to her omni-tool program and user-friendly interface.

Cole smiled as he stated, "Normally I had no idea what was in the packages, but when the attack happened, I decided to look to see if I could find something to fight the darkspawn. I don't know how Powell got his hands on an Asari Commando style shotgun, but it was useful. I just wish it were a pistol. It would have been more useful to me."

"Powell, is that the name of your contact?" Ashley asked with a glare.

"Yes… he's one of the dockworkers if he's still alive, that is," Cole admitted.

"Thank you for the information, now we need to go," Jane ordered the group.

"Good luck Commander," Dr. Warren waved goodbye.

"I don't need luck, I have a badass team," Jane smiled as Trex set off his bombs, destroying the Dragons' Teeth with great pride and joy.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime/Space Port**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

At the small spaceport, Nihlus heard the explosion off in the distance as he approached the main site, where he heard gunfire. Nihlus looked ready as he brought his shotgun up, only to lower his gun as he exclaimed in shock, "Saren?"

Standing in the center of the bodies of several darkspawn was a silver-colored turian in silver armor with a black cloth over the back half of his head. An M-77 Paladin with a power amplifier was in his right hand of his prosthetic arm that was like his entire body, cybernetically modified. There were enough enhancements to be able to lift up the heavier, more powerful assault rifle, the M-78 Revenant Assault Rifle on his back. Nihlus was internally glad he did not have out the heavy warlord's machinegun as the other turian turned towards Nihlus. The scars of his previous battles glowed along his cybernetic jaw and cybernetic blue eyes as he stared at his fellow SPECTRE.

He moved with power as he spoke in a clear, authoritative voice that sent shivers through the turian's entire body, "Nihlus."

Saren moved closer to the younger turian as he demanded answers, "What are you doing here Saren? You're not allowed into Confederation Space since the incident and your vocal anger against the humans."

"The Council sent me in case the humans and their allies backtrack on their agreement," Saren stated as he patted the back of Nihlus's armor. "A good thing too considering how everything fell apart."

Nihlus nodded in acceptance as he looked to the burning spaceport up head, "We weren't expecting the darkspawn to return, or to be used as someone's weapon. The situation is bad."

"Don't worry, I have everything under control," Saren stated as he turned to face Nihlus just as a small grenade he planted went off, firing his shields and internal systems.

"What in the spirits happen," Nihlus turned to see Saren with his pistol pointed at him.

"Sorry Nihlus, but I cannot let you stop the return of the Reapers," Saren whispered before he pulled the trigger.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime: Team 2**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Over the hill towards the spaceport, Jane and her team were moving with caution as they approached the spaceport. That was until they heard a gunshot and quickly went over the hill to see the spaceport off in the distance, surrounded by corpses of darkspawn and husks, as well as two shrieks that decloaked over a body that looked severely damaged. Ashley took out a sniper rifle and looked at her commander for confirmation. Jane only gave the nod, and with pinpoint accuracy, Ashley took out the two darkspawn in rapid session.

That was when she heard a roar and looked up with her scope to see something massive. She lowered her gun as she beheld in awe the gigantic squid-like ship rising off the ground. "What was that?" Kaidan asked in fear.

"That's the ship from earlier. Looked at the size of that thing," Ashley muttered.

"I would estimate that ship to be two kilometers tall. The drive core needed to land and take off on an average gravity world must be massive and really advanced," Legion-VII remarked.

"We'll need a shit-load of explosives to destroy that ship," Trex added as he checked his guns.

"Well it's getting away, let's worry about it later," Jane stated as she directed the group downhill to the spaceport.

They continued past the grassy field and up the ramp to see the corpse of a turian, which had been severely mutilated, yet still recognizable due to the armor. "Commander, it's Nihlus," Kaidan pointed out.

"Well he's definitely dead, the darkspawn really tore the turian to pieces," Trex examined the body while Legion-VII pointed its gun at the crates.

"Shepard-Commander, this unit is picking up movement," Legion reported, and the others swiftly pointed their guns towards the crates.

That was until a dockworker came out yelling, "Wait, don't shoot, I'm unarmed."

Jane lowered her gun with her team following suit, "Sneaking up on us could have gotten you killed. Don't do that."

"Sorry… i-it-it's just those m-mo-monsters got me scared," the human male stammered in fear. "My name is Powell; I was a dockworker when those things attacked. I'm the only one left. They killed everyone."

"I'm sorry for your loss," Jane said sadly. "How did you escape?"

Powell sighed in acceptance as he laid his hands onto, "I was hiding in one of the crates, sleeping on the job when the attack happened."

"You survived because you were lazy?" Ashley snarled as the man nodded, 'yes.'

Jane now felt even sorrier for the man as she stated, "If you hadn't been sleeping in, you would have died too."

"I guess, but it doesn't stop me from hearing their screams," the man added with a quiver. "At least their deaths were quick, and they weren't betrayed like the turian over there."

"What are you talking? Wasn't Nihlus killed by the darkspawn?" Trex asked with a growled.

"No, he was killed by another turian," the human said quickly. "The turian, Nihlus, called out the other turian by name… um, Saren I believe he said. And when Nihlus turned his back on him, he shot him and then ordered those monsters to secure the site."

"Saren, as in Saren Arterius?" Jane asked with a growl.

"I… I don't know, he never identified himself by his last name," Powell stammered out.

"Did the turian suspect unit have the following identifiable characteristics: silver skin, implants along the body and glowing blue eyes," Legion-VII asked in clicks.

"Yeah, that sounds like the turian," Powell admitted.

"Great, it's the traitor Anderson warned us about, wonderful," Trex growled behind his helmet.

"Um, Ma'am and LTs, who is Saren Arterius?" Ashley asked.

Jane looked at the others before she gave Ashley Williams an answer, "Saren Arterius is a turian SPECTRE for the Citadel Council. He is one of their best blacktops and assassins out there, as well as blacklisted from entering Confederation space. Mainly due to his remarks against humans and his sabotage of a joint operation that he tried to blame on our commander."

"According to digital records, Saren-SPECTRE's male creator was killed during the Human Turian War, and his biological unit sibling died in Confederation space years later," Legion-VII added.

Jane nodded at Legion-VII's additional comment before stating, "And if he is controlling the darkspawn, then we'll need the Council to stop him."

"That may be difficult as they not going to take the word of a smuggler," Kaidan pointed out as they turned towards Powell.

"W-wait I'm not…" Powell tried to stammer an answer, but Lieutenant 1st Class Ashley glared at him to shut.

"Don't deny it, your friends gave you up," Ashley told the man. "So I suggest you keep quiet, or I'll arrest you right now," Ashley threatened the man, and he quickly shut up.

"Did his armor camera record his conversation with Saren?" Jane asked Legion-VII.

"Negative Jane-Commander, all of Nihlus' equipment was fried, and his hard drive was purged to the point it will take weeks to recover if it is possible to save."

"And it looks like they did the same with the camera's around the spaceport," Trex pointed to the busted cameras.

"Great, we have no evidence that Saren led the attack and the Beacon is probably taken off the planet," Jane grumbled.

"That may not be true," Powell nervously stated, to gain their attention. "The Beacon was taken down to the tram station. It could still be there if you hurry. And as for evidence, I may have a solution." Powell then pulled a large object covered with a cloth, and he pulled the fabric down to reveal a glowing green crystal with black cybernetics across the body.

"Is that a Ghosting Crystal?" Kaidan asked.

"We had an accident at the dock where a crate of Ghosting Crystals fell, and the crate busted open. It destroyed all but one of the crystals. I found the single crystal and reported that all the crystals were destroyed. I was planning to sell it, but you'll need it more than I do," Powell stated as he handed over the crystal.

"You may have just won your right to walk away free," Jane stated as she put the green crystal across the body and activated it.

A green glow formed around the body as it absorbed his brain neurological electrical currents to download a person's personality and memories into its matrix. The green light swirled away from the body into the crystal, and a ghostly image of Nihlus came from the crystal. "Where am I, and why is everyone so much bigger than I am?"

"You were killed Nihlus. Do you remember what happened?" Jane asked.

"I remember everything. I remember seeing my friend Saren in the middle of the field. I remember letting my guard down. I remembering him planting a device that overloaded all my electronics, and I remember him killing me," Nihlus stated with an open mouth.

"I'm sorry Nihlus, we will make sure Saren will be brought in to answer for his crimes," Jane stated sadly.

Nihlus nodded for a moment before he developed a bewildered look, "Why is everyone so much bigger than I am?"

Jane almost cried as she stated, "I'll tell you when we need you," before she deactivated the crystal, putting the neural copy of Nihlus to sleep.

With the crystal secured, Jane rose up to speak with conviction, "We need to find the Beacon and stop Saren."

"Take the tram, it's the only way there," Powell pointed out before he looked down. "I can't stay here. I need to be away from this place."

Powell soon disappeared into the crates, hiding again as the team approached the train tram with caution, only to be fired upon by darkspawn waiting on the other side, led by a grunt biotic. The group quickly ran for cover as it threw a biotic warp at them. It missed as Kaidan responded by overloading its shield just before Ashley hit the creature three times in the head for a kill. As the grunt fell, Trex fired his M-37 Falcon into the crowd to cause confusion and panic, while killing a goblin that tried to summon an attack drone. The attack drove three of the darkspawn together for Legion-VII and Jane to eliminate them. Legion-VII froze the one in the middle with a cryo-blast while Jane fired off a fireball that caused an explosion that took out all the darkspawn.

Jane stood proud, thinking she had won until she turned her head slightly to see movement coming from the train tram. "Oh shit!" Jane yelled as she crouched behind a crate just before a loud bang was heard.

The others ducked as well, far enough to be protected but high enough to see what it was. They began to quake as walking towards them was a giant, armored darkspawn known as an ogre. It was a giant, muscular beast similar to the qunari, with long bull-like horns and the ability to crush people with its bare hands. A creature strong enough to carry a cannon large enough to be put on an M-35B Mako, it was aimed right at them. The entire team ducked down as it opened fire in three bursts, causing metal shards to shoot up as their defenses barely held together.

It was all the motivation that Trex needed as he pulled out three different grenades. Trex threw a sticky grenade onto the cannon, and only rose again to throw an inferno and polonium grenade. The three grenades combined to create an explosion massive enough to damage the gun. Trex gave a yell of victory until he was forced to duck when the beast was still able to fire its weapon and destroy the container Jane was hiding behind. Spilling its contents on the ground, as Jane lay on the ground, motionless.

The others were pinned down again, as the ogre pulled out a second weapon that resembled a larger version of a massive Geth Spitfire, a fast-repeating machinegun used by giant Geth Primes. The group remained down as bullets were digging deep into their cover as Jane recovered to see in front of her was a Human System Alliance M-560 Hydra, a rocket launcher designed to fire a burst of rockets with a single pull of the trigger. A weapon meant to be delivered to a heavy rocket squad, and one Jane wasted no time grabbing before she ran towards the ogre. She aimed her rocket launcher for a second before she opened fire. A large number of missiles flew from her gun and impacted on the beast, killing the ogre in a fiery explosion as chunks of burning flesh flew in every direction.

Jane sighed in relief as she dropped the empty launcher onto the ground. She looked at her fellow soldiers to state, "Let's go."

The group nodded as they rose up and ran down to a walkway and to a large platform that was the tram. Jane quickly activated the tram once her entire team was aboard as it rode towards the spaceport. Off in the distance, they watched an army of darkspawn led by ogres and snappers, giant snapping turtle darkspawn that reminded them of krogans except they had a shell as hard as a diamond on their back. They were meeting the Confederation army of soldiers accompanied by giant walkers, Geth Armatures, the more massive Colossus, the tall, three eye Geth Primes with Spitfires, and the Atlas Mark II, heavy mobile mech suits with machine guns and a cannon. A sizable ground force being led by CAW vehicles into battle.

Flying into the horde was A-61A Gunship and M-44B Hammerhead, guns blazing. The gunships flew overhead, firing missiles and bullets at the darkspawn below while the M-44B hover tank went deep in enemy lines with the turret on top firing homing missiles as its mini turrets cleared the way. A few would not make it, but most got out of the way for soldiers led by the M-35B Mako main weapons backed by its bigger brother, the M-53A Varren Tomkah. A heavily armored six-wheel tank fired its dual main cannon to kill a snapper while a wave of missiles fired from the guns hit the horde.

The squad watched the combat with great interest as they headed to the spaceport, not realizing that the army was a distraction for John's team and unexpectedly their team as well.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime: Team 1**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Over a flowing river that led to a massive satellite installation, stood a bridge that was only accessible on foot and one that John's team approached with caution. While the human and elf approached with caution, the massive krogan took the young, impressionable quarian under his wing as he taught her a shotgun trick. "As you can see, once you master this pump and lever trick, you'll be able to reload quickly with just a flick of your wrist," Wrex told the young woman with a smile.

"Wow, and you learned this during your travels," Tali said in awe. "It must have taken you years to learn that trick."

"Oh the trick is easy to learn, it just takes a long time to figure out how to hide it from others. I learned it during my mercenary days before I became the head honcho for my people," Wrex added with a smirk.

"It must have been an exciting life," Tali said in awe.

"Well it wasn't boring as leading the krogans, that's for sure," Wrex laughed in excitement. "Ah, the good old days, when I explored the galaxy on others credit chips instead of sitting all day listening to political bull crap. (Sigh) I miss fighting on the frontlines."

"Well, good news, we're here to fill your stomach with blood. We are on the bridge, and my HUD picked up movement in the water," John pointed out.

"If it's like the previous war, then it is likely that darkspawn hanar called stingers are in the water," Wrex grumbled.

"I can also see goblins and vrogs have taken control of the base's defenses, including defense turrets and combat drones," Velanna stated as she used her omni-tool as binoculars with the screen focusing on the image. Only to see the goblin and vrog darkspawn spot them as the automated turrets turned towards them.

"Shit!" Velanna yelled as she and her team ducked behind cover just before the turrets opened fire.

Mass Effect rounds and the occasional practical plasma laser tried to penetrate their cover. John knew the defense drones were being prepped as they spoke, so he yelled out, "We need to get to the facility, now!"

"No, we don't," Tali yelled out. "I can hack the facility from here using its wireless telecommunication. I just need more time then I would need in the facility since it will not be a direct link."

"How long will it take?" John shouted through the sound of gunfire.

"At least ten minutes!" Tali yelled back. "Maybe fifteen."

"Fine then, hold the line for the Ensign!" John ordered as he pulled out his M-96 Mattock to shoot at the darkspawn behind cover.

Velanna followed suit with her N7 Valliant, taking pot shots at any darkspawn she could hit. Both of them combined were able to overwhelm the darkspawn's shields before killing them, but none of the darkspawn controlling the defense satellites was killed. Moreover, they never would get a chance to attack the darkspawn controlling the satellites as the first wave of stingers arrived. The black, jellyfish creatures wasted no time jumping out of the water towards John's team, nor did his team waste time in responding with lethal force. Wrex was the first to kill his target with a shotgun to the body while the others followed suit.

John and Wrex threw grenades into the water to quell the numbers while Velanna used her powers to make the air in front of her toxic to any living being. Unfortunately, there were more darkspawn then grenades as a few made it past their defenses. One landed close to Tali, who gave out a surprised shriek as it began to move slowly towards her. Unable, to stop the hack, Tali tried to back away, but it grabbed her leg and started to pull her closer to it. Tali was about to panic and try to use her shotgun when the darkspawn froze into an ice-sculpture.

Tali gasped in amazement as she looked behind her to see Velanna was in her demonic mode as a wave of demonic energy rolled off her, forming the shape of two horns and a long tail. Tali stared for a second, before getting back to work as Velanna growled, "You will not harm anyone for I desire that all you beasts die!"

Velanna wasted no time in her attack, turning the lake into boiling water as she flung rocks and boulders at anything that was darkspawn related. All the while Wrex whistled, "Damn, I forgot how powerful those pansy magicians are when they go all krogan berserker." Wrex smiled as Velanna summoned a school of leaches to start devouring what was left of the darkspawn in the lake. "How powerful is the demon entity from the fade she is fused with."

"The desire demon Velanna fused with is on the level of a powerful pride demon, so very powerful," John added with a small smile.

"Good for we are going to need… oh shit, Velanna run!" Wrex yelled but too late as a few missiles hit Velanna.

The elf fell to the ground in pain and rolled over on her back as John ran over to examine Velanna. He found her shields were down, her armor was smoking, and she was bleeding. Without a second thought, John administrated a shot of the miracle gel known as med-gel into her arm. The gel sealing up wounds while tiny nanobots sent electrical pulses to stabilizing her body as she slowly rose up in pain. She wished she could easily get up on her feet as behind John, dozens of automated drones were heading their way.

They were getting closer and closer, and she anticipated the floating, aerodynamic platforms would open fire on them, but then they stopped midflight. They just floated there as the darkspawn tried to give it under its control when the platforms' turrets and drones did a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn to open fire on the darkspawn. The darkspawn were quickly cut down in size as the drones flew into the base to cleanse it of filth as the space satellites above moved into an attack position.

John said, "You did well Ensign," when the satellites opened fire with blue disruptor torpedoes, and PPCs fired on the darkspawn frigates and horde below.

Whole fields were cleansed as the darkspawn population was eliminated while most of the ships were being destroyed. Several ships tried to escape, but only two were successful. The two-kilometer ship that seemed to shrug off the attacks and an alien looking cruiser following behind. Realizing both ships could escape and one them could be taken down with a bit more firepower, John opened his communication as he made a tactical choice. " _Normandy_ , this is Captain John Shepard, I spotted a cruiser with a two-kilometer dreadnaught trying to make its escape. I request you shoot it down before it gets away!"

" _This is the_ Normandy _, don't worry Shepard, we see it, and we're making sure it doesn't get away_ ," Anderson stated over the comm as Team 1 watched the firefight from below.

They watched as the _CSS Normandy_ decloaked to fire four of its disruptor torpedoes into the ship, followed by its slower, but more powerful slug from its Thanix Cannon. The weapons hit the ship, causing it to spin. The ship returned fire, but the _CSS Normandy_ avoided its main attacks while its shields absorbed the enemy ship's lighter attack from the defense guns along the hull. The faster _CSS Normandy_ began to roll around the ship, firing its plasma lasers across the hull to take out its defense turrets. The _CSS Normandy_ then flew past the rear of the vessel and made a steep turn around to fire its two red plasma torpedoes into the ship's engines. The resulting explosion destroyed the ship's engine as it descended to the ground.

Team 1 watched the alien ship crash as the _CSS Normandy_ made a victory lap over the defeated ship while John received his next set of orders, " _John, General Haliot, Martock is sending troops to secure the crash site. Assist in their recovery while we inform the Fifth Fleet the Defense Satellites are back under our control_."

John's team was on the move when he acknowledged his orders, "On it sir, over and out."

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime/Spaceport**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

Within the large spaceport, the darkspawn stood attention as Saren stood in front of the beacon. His body was floating as his mind assimilated the data until he was set down. Drowsy, Saren looked at the darkspawn to state, "I've got what we came for, set the device to overload. I want it destroyed before someone else uses it."

A darkspawn vrog and goblin nodded as they got to work on the self-destruct as he heard explosions off in the distance and looked up to see the defense satellites were back in Confederation control. Saren growled out, "It's time for me to go. The rest of you beasts, hold the Confederation back with your lives. We cannot risk one of the humans, or their pets from using the Beacon before it is destroyed. Snap to it."

The darkspawn quickly growled out acknowledgments as Saren walked over to the orb-like ship, and into its cockpit. He got in time to hear gunfire and explosions to see Jane's team had arrived. Saren sighed in annoyance as he closed the ship's cockpit as it rose up off the ground. As Jane electrocuted the last two darkspawn, she watched the vessel escaped into the large, two-kilometer ship's hanger before it rose up at speeds of a heavy cruiser. The giant ship soon made a dash past the defense satellites towards the relay when it detected the arrival of the Fifth Fleet.

The Fifth Fleet was a substantial fleet lead by a variety of ships numbering over seventy-nine warships in total. Thirty-two of which were Terran and Far Child class frigates, sixteen were Garden and Genesis class heavy frigates, and sixteen were Liberty class cruisers. The rest were the heavier class of warships, with eight of the bulkier version of the Liberty class cruisers known as the Enterprise class heavy cruiser. Four were kilometer long warships wales like ships known as Monolith carriers. And the last three of which were Unity Class dreadnaughts, a design similar to its smaller cruisers but with thicker armor, larger guns and a length around a kilometer.

The two-kilometer ship identified by fleet silhouette as _Sovereign_ took one look before it turned at speeds that would sheer most ships in half as it flew away from the attack fleet. They did not even get a chance to open fire as _Sovereign_ made the jump to FTL speeds, escaping the attack fleet. With their quarry gone, the fleet headed to Eden Prime to take down any darkspawn ships in orbit while escorting the round, caterpillar shape geth Servant Class Drops Ship to reinforce the planet's defenses.

With their target gone, Jane sighed as she started her report, " _Normandy_ the Beacon is secured, but Saren escaped in a…" while the rest of the team examined the Beacon.

"It's amazing, an actual working piece of Prothean technology," Kaidan stated as Trex grunted.

"Looks like a glowing piece of junk to me."

"It wasn't doing anything like this when we dug it up, something must have activated it," Ashley stated as she moved closer while Jane acknowledged their orders.

Jane turned to see Ashley get closer only for the Beacon to activate and slowly drag the scared woman towards it. Without thinking, Jane rushed towards Ashley, grabbed the woman, and flung her out of the way, as Jane rose off the ground. Ashley tried to move in to help Jane, but she was stopped by Legion-VII, "No Williams-Lieutenant, this unit is developing a massive surge. Interrupting the download could kill Shepard-Commander," Legion-VII explained with a worried click as Jane screamed in agonizing pain.

Jane saw blurry images, words burning, lives lost as she was assaulted by all manner of graphic images. She continued seeing such images until boom, the beacon exploded, sending her tumbling back as her team rushed towards the downed woman. Kaidan called for a medical emergency as Ashley, Trex and Legion-VII tended to Jane.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/Eden Prime/Unidentified Ship Crash Site: Team 1**

**Human Date: February 3, 2183**

On the other side of the world, John's team was entering the hive-like ship as they saw CAW soldier crawl all over the downed vessel. They moved forward, only to be stopped by an ensign that apprised them of the situation, "Sirs, we have secured the site, no sign of the crew. We think the ship was automated or they destroyed themselves before we got here."

"So, there is no one aboard?" John asked.

"I wouldn't say that," as the soldier directed John to a pod. He cleared the pod to reveal it was a thin, tall alien. With a face that resembled Earth's amphibians with the top of its scalp shaped into fleshy horns. It was a salarian.

"And he's not the only one put in cryo. Some are criminals, some are citizens of CAW or the Council, and others were people born in lawless zones like independent colonies or the Terminus System."

"Why would they take these people?" Velanna asked softly as saw them opening a pod that held a young human girl taken in the recent raid.

"We think they were taking samples to experiment on possible darkspawn hosts and troops," the soldier replied with a grim face.

"Whoever is responsible will pay for this," Wrex growled as Tali nodded quietly in the background.

"Sir there is something else we need to show you," the soldier said as he led the team deeper inside, using telekinesis to push debris away until he led them to another chamber filled with more pods. "Also unidentified, which is not unusual except for a few things. All of them are wearing primitive armor slash clothing and weapons."

"Define primitive," John ordered.

"Earth's Reissuance era," the soldier stated with a straight face.

"They were using weapons hundreds of years out of date?" Tali asked in shock.

"Yes, but that is only part of it," the soldier stated. "The second thing to note is that we found three male qunaris and eight male elves, among others."

"How that's possible? I thought the only discovered qunari and elves brought back to Terra during the Darkspawn War were female?" Tali asked in shock.

"Not unless our enemy found the darkspawn's homeworld and the locals are still alive despite our worst fears," John stated with a calculating gazed. "We'll need to get the CID in here, see if we can find the darkspawn's homeworld to wipe it out."

"What about the survivors?" Velanna asked nervously.

"From what our scans and hacks revealed, we determined they took over a thousand people from this unknown world, and only a hundred survived, as far as we can tell and," the soldier reported. "They were systemically taken for tests just liked those grabbed from the rest of the galaxy. We're just waiting for orders on who to wake up outside of those in critical condition."

"That will be up to our superiors, though Confederation and Citadel citizens can be awakened now while we cherry pick a few others," John stated as he looked at the pods. "Which of these people from the unknown world were scheduled to be processed next?"

The soldier pulled up his omni-tool to state, "The following people were going to be processed next. A redheaded female human in cleric cloth with a bow and arrows. A dirty blond human male in fur robes with a dragonhead staff. A blond male elf in leather crow armor with tattoos over his body and several daggers. A black-haired female elf in green robes with vine tattoos on her face and a wooden staff. A white-haired male qunari with no horns and a long sword. And a blond male human dwarf with a crossbow."

"We'll take them to the ship, and find out what they know," John ordered as he reported over their comm. "Admiral this is John, we secured the ship, and we found some things to bring back."

" _Good work, we are getting Jane and her team on board. We'll come to you as soon as we can_ ," Anderson stated through the comm.

"Were they able to secure the Beacon?" John asked.

There was a brief pause before Anderson stated, " _The Beacon was destroyed. According to Legion-VII, the darkspawn set it to overload, but not before it downloaded a large amount of information into Jane's mind. She is in a coma right now, and the doc is working on her right now._ "

John nodded slowly as he stated, "Understood sir, we'll see you when we can."

John turned off his communicator as he looked down while Velanna approached John with a hand on his shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," John stated with an emotionless face. "Just get to work; this is going to be a long day."

**Location: Undisclosed Location/Sovereign**

**Human Date: February 4, 2183**

Deep within the bow of the two-kilometer-long warship, strolled an asari, an all-female race with tentacles that function like hair and skin that are in shades of blue or purple. This particular asari was one with dark blue skin in a black dress that showed off her ample cleavage to her advantage, especially in negotiations. Attributes she needed as she approached the throne Saren sat in as she gave a report in a steady, cold tone.

"We've identified the ship that hit the ship that carried our samples. It was the _Normandy_ , a Specter class heavy frigate commanded by your nemesis, Rear Admiral David Anderson," the asari with a black hood relayed to Saren. "They have managed to secure the planet and free several of our test subjects."

"A problem, but not major one as we have a dozen more ships filled with subjects, though it would hurt us to no longer have those samples from Thedas," Saren growled. "What about the Beacon Benezia?"

"One of the humans, a Commander Jane Shepard, may have used it," Benezia stated calmly, just as it set off Saren.

Saren growled and yelled as he lost his cool and hurled his drink towards Benezia, who shuffled to the side and allowed his drink to hit the wall. She kept her poise as he growled, yelled as he marched towards Benezia only to stop after he grabbed her face. Saren gave one more growl before he finally calmed down to think.

With a snarl, he said in an even tone, "This human and anyone who is with her must be eliminated."

Benezia only smiled as Saren let her go as he walked back to his throne, planning their next move as he continued to grumble his annoyance. They began to plan their next move as the Galactic Darkspawn War had just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done with another long chapter, did not plan for it to be this long, but oh well. Hope you enjoy the story. Especially with the defense and second mission on Eden Prime. I took a lot of liberties with that mission and feedback is good.


	4. Morning Signs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, great RPGs I worry yet hope Bioware will keep up with their storytelling.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/25/2018

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 3**

**Human Date: February 4, 2183**

Nightmares, that is how Jane Shepard describes the sensation as dark images appeared in her mind. Images she could not make out clearly, though it was enough to sicken her and make her fearful even after all her years of fighting from one battle to the next. However, through all the carnage and phycological screams in her nightmares, Jane could hear a few words that were repeated over and over again. Words she could not make out or recall easily as the world bled away to a sterile medical room filled with blinking lights and holographic interfaces. Jane groaned as she recognized she was in the _CSS Normandy's_ medical bay and she had finally awakened from her nightmare.

A fact someone else noticed as a woman yelled out, "Doctor, Doctor Chakwas, I think the Commander is waking up."

"No, she has woken up," Jane groaned as she rose up to the side of her bed with a throbbing headache that slowly dissipated as a friendly face showed up in her line of sight.

"You had us worried Sheppard. How are you felling Jane?" Dr. Karin Chakwas asked as she examined her with a medical version of an omni-tool.

"Minor headaches," Jane answered with a small smile. "Nothing too serious, how long was I out?"

"About six hours," Chakwas replied. "Something must have happened to the Beacon."

"It was my fault ma'am," said the newcomer as she came into the light to reveal that the woman was Ashley Williams, still wearing her armor filled with grime from the planet below. "When I got close to the Beacon, it activated and dragged me towards it. If I were not so clumsy, you wouldn't have had to save me."

Jane looked at the downtrodden lieutenant as she got out of her bed and put a hand on Ashley's shoulder, "You had no way of controlling it, Ash. It wasn't your fault."

Ashley looked into her superior's eye, and all the self-pity washed away as she straightens up to give a thankful smile while Dr. Chakwas took over the conversation again. "Physically you're fine, though I do worry about a concussion."

The doctor then walked over to a screen and had it display Jane's images as Jane took a closer look. All looked normal for someone in REM sleep, except for the part Dr. Chakwas had highlighted, "As you can see, there was an unusually high amount of beta waves, which is similar to someone entering the Fade if they were a powerful Magician or had to use the Dream Machine. However, since you're a psychic knight and you lacked a similar machine, I have to assume the Beacon downloaded information directly into your brain. Can you describe what you saw?"

Jane leaned back as she muttered out loud, "I'm not sure. I remember seeing death, destruction, but all of it is blurry. As if the images were out of focus and distorted. There were also words, but none of them made any sense to me, and I have difficulty recalling them."

"Hm… this needs to go into my report, and we may need to take more detailed scans," Chakwas muttered, as she took notes and deep scans. She was taking her last note when the door opened behind her as three figures stepped in. "Ah, Admiral Anderson, Captain Shepard, and Lieutenant Commander Velanna," the doctor acknowledged them as her armored guests stepped in.

They were guarding a very stem Anderson wearing not his uniform, but a vested uniform. Jane was curious why Anderson was wearing his armor but did not get a chance to ask, as the Admiral went straight to talk business with Dr. Chakwas, "How is our patient doing?"

"Besides the readings, I told you about, she is going to be fine. Though I am concerned about how the psychological effects from the visions downloaded into her mind will affect her," the doctor explained while John Shepard looked at his omni-tool.

"I understand your concerns. Please submit this to High Command and please don't discuss this with the rest of the crew. Wait until High Command decides if the information should be classified or not," John told the good doctor, who nodded in response as she was familiar with the routine.

"Will do Captain."

"Good, now can we speak to the Commander in private?" Anderson asked in a demanding tone that left no room for misunderstanding of his intent.

One Ashley recognized as an order as she saluted her superior officer, "We'll do sir. I will head to the hanger to prep for our guest."

"And I'll join her to make sure the awakening operation goes smoothly," Chakwas added before the two left, leaving the commanding officers alone.

It did not take long for John to let his stance slip a bit as he asked the million-credit question, "Are you alright Jane?"

"I'm fine John, just trying to make sense of everything," Jane told her brother as she walked around. "How bad is it on Eden Prime?"

"Pretty bad Jane, casualties were high. Over three million civilians were killed, along with two hundred thousand soldiers and three Geth Server Nodes were destroyed," Anderson told the Commander. "Combined with the loss of Eden Prime's entire defense fleet and the severe damage to the space station, Eden Prime's whole defense network is crippled. The Fifth Fleet is staying in orbit until High Command can send in a new defensive force and technicians to repair the defenses."

"The only good news is that it could have been worst if General Martock did not rally the troops in time. It was made only slightly better since our forces have a confirmed kill count of over a million and a half darkspawn and the destruction of a dozen darkspawn ships with an additional untold number of darkspawn," John pointed out.

"Still, too many died," Jane noted quietly before she asked the million-credit question. "How did they get past our RCF's system patrols?"

"CID and CNIS (Confederation Navy Investigation Service) are looking into it. According to CID, they found Salarian's STG bugs used by them and the Council's SPECTRES to spy on us. They sent a few computer viruses to gather our own intelligence before they disconnected them. Meanwhile, CNIS is running their own investigation in the heart of Council space and Eden Prime to see if they can find any more evidence of Saren's involvement."

"You mean to say it was the Council's own paranoia that led to this attack?" Jane asked in shock.

"Looks like it, sis," John stated with a shrug.

A shrug that caused Jane to groan as she switched subjects, "I take it that Ash-Lieutenant First Class Williams is going to be assigned to us."

"I've read her record and felt she would make a fine member of the ground team. Especially since she is an N6 like Lieutenant Alenko and an extraordinary marksman," John pointed to his sister.

"Ash is a good soldier, she deserves it," Jane stated with conviction as Anderson spoke up.

"Lieutenant Alenko, Trex, and Legion-VII seemed to agree with you when I asked their opinion of Lieutenant Williams. It is why I had her transferred to the First Battalion."

Jane nodded along as she turned to face her superiors to do what other soldiers often have done after a battle like the Battle for Eden Prime. Questioned the future, "So, what's next?"

"I won't lie to you, things are bad," Anderson admitted. "Nihlus is dead, the Beacon was destroyed, and we're about to bring them one of the possibly many pieces of evidence against Saren. Something the three Councilors on the Council will not be willing to readily admit, as they will actively deny that one of their elite is a traitor. I just have to hope the Ghosting Crystal of Nihlus along with any other evidence we gather will be enough. Combined with the darkspawn returning as an interstellar army and a galactic threat, this could get very bloody, very quickly. Especially since SPECTRE Saren hates the Confederation, and loathes humans."

"Is it really that bad?" Jane asked.

"Its worst then that Jane," Anderson sighed. "A lot of aliens outside of the Confederation think our mutually built government that includes the Krogans, Quarians, and Geth is really just us building an army to take over the galaxy. Most won't do anything about it, but Saren is an extremist. He sabotaged a joint mission and caused a massive amount of casualties in an attempt to discredit me."

"Why?" Jane asked in horror as Anderson sighed.

"He has personal reasons to hate us, and we have reasons to hate his family. His father was the leader that led the Turian fleet we destroyed over Shaanxi during the Human Turian War. His brother, who officially had been declared missing in action, had actually committed suicide after our forces found him committing espionage within our territory without the consent of the Council or the Turians. This attack must be personal."

"Maybe not," John stated as he stretched his neck. "If it were personal, he would have used that giant warship on the planet. We recovered black boxes that indicated it destroyed the defense force and damaged the space station in orbit with one shot. The warship could have destroyed the colony from orbit without revealing the darkspawn or that Saren was their leader. No, he was after the Beacon, which means he knew something valuable was in it."

Anderson nodded in acceptance, "I feared that was the case." The Rear Admiral then turned to Jane to ask his question, "The doctor suggested that the Beacon downloaded something in your mind. Can you remember anything you saw?"

"I'm not sure how I can describe it," Jane admitted. "It was blurry, but I could make out explosions, death, and destruction. I don't know who exactly their victims were, but I think their killers were machines."

"This needs to be reported to High Command, the President and to the Council," Anderson told his officers.

"And tell them what, that the Commander had dreams of death after being put through hell?" John asked when Velanna stepped up for the first time.

"We may be able to show the Council and our superiors what the Beacon downloaded into Jane and maybe even focus the images for the Commander."

"How Lieutenant Commander?" John asked.

"Through the Dream Machine we have in the back," Velanna suggested. "I can enter through the Fade through mediation and assist Jane with my demon to access what the Beacon had put into Jane's mind while the device records it."

Jane nodded in acceptance, "It could work, though I've never been to the Fade. Never had to deal with demons either thanks to the implant I got at a young age." Jane then cracked a smile as she added, "If I didn't have to worry about the prospects of viewing those dark thoughts with clarity, I would be jumping in excitement."

"Hm," Rear Admiral stated, as he thought it over. Scratching his chin until he came to a decision, "Alright, Velanna, help Jane in recovering those visions the Beacon gave her. If it looks like it will be too dangerous, discontinue it. I consider her a lot more important than whatever the Beacon downloaded into her head."

"You got it, Anderson," Jane nodded with a bright smile as Anderson nodded in acceptance.

"Very good, Cortona will keep watch over you as Chakwas is going to have to handle our new guests," Anderson told the Commander, who looked back with confusion.

"What guests?" Jane asked in confusion.

"Some people that seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," John told his sister before the Captain and Admiral left the two Commanders to their own devices.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 5: Hanger Bay**

**Human Date: February 4, 2183**

At the bottom of the ship, a large number of the crew were preparing for the worst as they stood around six pods John had picked up from Eden Prime. The entire ground team was there with additional security forces in position led by the one who felt she had the most to prove. Ashley Williams, the newest recruit to First Battalion who felt like she had a lot to prove, especially after watching her whole team die on Eden Prime. Therefore, she quickly took advantage of the weapons offered to her by switching her semi-automatic M-96 Matlock assault rifle for what many called an assault/sniper rifle hybrid, the M-99 Saber. A more extended, heavier version of the M-96 Matlock that had a lower fire rate over its higher ranger and power. The perfect weapon for a marksman as she readied herself for battle while her fellow human lieutenant tried to calm her down.

"Hold your horses Lt," Kaidan said as he tried to sooth Ashley's mind. "We don't know if they are going to be hostile yet."

Ashley responded with a glare, "That may be so, but we can't afford to be caught exposed again like… like E-Eden Prime. I would rather be safe than sorry that we didn't stop a hostile from killing someone else because we were too lax."

Kaidan frowned, but accepted her caution as he got into position as well while Adams worked over a computer console hot-wired into the device as his former engineer assistant, Tali, helped in making the connections. Confident the pods were now compatible with Confederation's technology, he developed a small smile as he watched the Admiral and Captain walk towards him.

"Captain Sheppard, Admiral Anderson, the pods are stable and ready to be opened any time we wish. However, I recommend waking them up one at a time to be safe. It also gives you time to access the pod's databank information… which includes personal information on the subjects listed by name." Tali reported.

"How?" John asked.

"I think the pods are equipped with neural implants that interprets the subject's minds over several weeks. I'm uploading the files now," Lieutenant Commander Greg Adams reported as Sarah employed a specialized omni-tool used by communication officers to help in translations.

"With this information, I can align the communicator's translator program to their language. As soon as they wake up, we'll be able to communicate with them through our omni-tools."

"Good, then let's not waste any more time," John stated, as the ship's doctor looked ready to protest.

"Captain, I still recommend against waking them up now!" Dr. Chakwas stated as she performed another neural scan. "In fact, I suggest we wait until we come to a proper hospital before trying."

"Would it be dangerous for us to wake them up this early?" John asked as he looked at the sleeping human, elves and qunari.

"They'll probably be fine. A bit dehydrated but physical fine," Dr. Chakwas admitted. "However, if something goes wrong, we may not have the facilities to save them, even if we're a few hours travel to one that is not overflowing with patients."

"Understood Doctor, but we can't afford to wait," John stated as he studied the six subjects. "High Command said we have two hours to gather any more information on the subject before we are forced to go to the heart of Council Space, the Citadel. And this is one piece of information we can't afford to miss out on."

"I agree with the young Captain," stated Supreme Commander Urdnot, Wrex. "These pyjaks are from the darkspawn's homeworld and were captured by Saren. If we are lucky, then they heard his entire plan, and it will make my trip to the Citadel worth my time. So, the risks out weight the potential troubles we'll face."

"Wake them up now! We can't afford to let them sleep a minute longer!" John ordered the doctor, who looked at Anderson for confirmation.

One Anderson gave as he supported the new Captain of the _CSS Normandy_ , "It's the Captain's choice and his first command of this ship, for better or worst. I hope you're willing to take on the risk of such decisions," Anderson stated and questioned, as he looked right at a confident John.

"I am," John stated with conviction.

"Very well Captain Shepard. We're beginning the awakening sequence, ETA five minutes," Chief Engineer Adams reported.

Tali nodded in agreement, as she nervously monitored the connections while John looked on, just as his sister was working on changing the galaxy, as they knew it.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 3: Medical Bay**

**Human Date: February 4, 2083**

In the back of the medical bay onboard of the _CSS Normandy_ is a small room designed to hold medical supplies and a special chair. A comfortable inclined chair that was connected to a wired helmet that seemed to glow green when used. It was device illegal for most citizens of the galaxy and one a few buys. It is useful for non-implanted mages to dream, research, a general search engine for the military, and to help recover memories. It is a device designed to enter into the mysterious dream world known as the Fade.

"So, this is the Simulated Fade Sleep Machine, aka the Dream Machine?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow. "It looks like something a nerd put together for a science fiction convention."

"I guess… I haven't noticed," Velanna mumbled.

"I have, and I thought it adds to the quirks found in the world of geeks and nerds," Cortona stated from her holographic interface. "Are you ready to step into my parlor?"

Jane sighed as she lay back on the inclined chair as she put on her helmet while Velanna sat Indian style as she spoke quietly to Jane, "The device will pull you into the Fade where my demon and I will be waiting to guide you. That is if it's all right with you?"

"It is, thanks to you," Jane stated with a small smile.

"See you on the other side," Velanna smiled before she closed her eyes, and with a swirl of black and white magic, as they entered the Fade.

Seeing her friend making the trip, Jane followed. She closed her eyes, as instructed by Cortona before she pulled a switch. A green light began to swirl around her as she was drawn to her mind. She went deeper and deeper into her subconscious, pulling up faint memories and dreams. That was until Jane finally emerged into the floating, distorted world of green, brown, and black. For the first time in her life, Jane was in the Fade, and she looked around in wonder.

It was a world of constant movement as land masses floated as far as the eye could see. It was a world without the optical illusions of a static world instead of a world continually moving. It was a world that seemed apparent, and yet it was more unreal than a world filled with illusion. It was a fantasy world that seemed to be within her reach as she watched the world ripple through her movements.

She felt she could do anything with just a thought as she voiced out loud, "This is so cool."

"Oh, you haven't seen anything of the Fade yet," answered a beautiful voice that echoed across the green void.

Jane whirled around to see Velanna being held in a seductive embrace by a beautiful creature tethered to her. A tall, curvy creature that Jane recognized from reports she read about Velanna. A creature that wore the elf's face had purplish-white skin, long curved horns, and was almost completely bare skinned.

"So, you're the desire demon, Angle?" Jane asked as the demon chuckled in response.

"Yes, I am the desire demon attached to cute little Velanna to see what it means to be mortal. And I must say, it would be more exciting if she just let out more than she does," the demon said she tried to loosen the girl's clothing with no luck as Velanna kept pushing the demon's hands away.

"Could you please stop that, it's embarrassing," Velanna stammered out with a blush as radiant as the sun.

Angle pouted as she let go of Velanna, "As you desire." Angle then flew up and around Jane, as she sang out, "Now that you are here, shall we head out or do you have a question to ask us? Like how often my host is getting it on with her Captain, among other things," Angle suggested much to Velanna's embarrassment and anger she tried to contain to keep her emotions from exploding like a volcano. And one that Janae wanted to avoid.

"Um… I don't want to hear how much action my brother gets. Though I am curious about the name," Jane stated with a tilt of her head.

"Very well, my name is Angle for I like being ironic, if nothing else," Angle stated acrostically as she took note of an angry Velanna. Not wanting to cause her host to be too angry with her, she had quickly stated, "So, shall we head out to see what the Beacon put in your head, or just float here for a while."

"Yes, let's go," Velanna strained as she slowly let out her anger.

"Alright," Jane said with an unsure tone. "What do I do?"

"Nothing," the two beings tethered together replied as they moved to either side of Jane. "Just let us take you in the flow."

Jane nodded in acceptance as she let the two take her down memory lane, seeing glimpses of her past. From parts that she loved, like the first time she saw a planet from the space. To parts that hurt her, like the day her mother told her that her father died trying to save the outer colony world named Mindoir. Velanna gave a squeeze of reassurance when they finally met the memories alien to her. It was the memories that the Beacon had put into her mind, and it was a jumbled mess.

The desire demon, Angle moved close to the mess to give some words of wisdom, "Their memories are incomplete, corrupted like fragmented data. You may not be able to see everything, and since they are alien, you may not understand most of it, but I'll try to clear it up as much as I can."

"Do it, I need to understand," Jane told the demon, who nodded in acceptance with Velanna.

The paired souls soon got to work as the images began to become defragmented in her mind, to Velanna's horror and Angle's fascination. Not that it mattered to Jane as she was memorized by the results. She did not even hear Cortona report that she was recording her memories. All she could think was the images of death played before her as it quickly became evident that the jumbled images were worlds being destroyed.

Through the corrupted fragments, she saw many different types of worlds, cities and even ships destroyed by things crowded in shadows. She saw synthetics and organic beings massacred by horrific monsters. All the while, planets' names were displayed as they watched the destruction. The victims were called 'Protheans,' and the destroyers were called 'Reapers.' The scene repeated over and over until finally, she reached a planet so fragmented she could not tell what it was. But the word 'Conduit' came through before the squid-like ship similar to Saren's ship appeared in front of her, forcing the three to jump back in shock as the image faded into her memory.

The desire demon Angle was the first to regain her bearing as she stated, "Well, that certainly got my heart beating. I think we just saw an empire fall to a galactic scale massacre."

"I… I have to agree," Velanna stammered in shock.

"And that ship on Eden Prime is somehow tied to this Conduit and whatever these Reapers are," Jane said with a headache.

"But what does it all mean?" Velanna asked her commander. "And how do they all fit together?"

"I don't know. I am not an expert on extinct empires. Regardless, this needs to be reported to High Command… We need to stop it from happening," Jane blurted out as though it was forced on her.

"Then let us awaken," Velanna stated before she turned to Angel. "Thank you for the aid and service."

"Think nothing of it, my child, as I'm here to serve," the demon smiled before she faded out of view, leaving the two 'mortals' alone, which Velanna wasted no time.

She turned to Jane, speaking an incantation as the Fade swirled around her. The world spun around her as she approached the realm of reality. It would not be long before she opened her eyes into the blinding lights of the waking world. Without a moment to waste, she pushed off her helmet as Velanna opened her eyes. The elven woman rose from the ground as Jane jumped out of the chair, ready to face the world.

"Tell me you've got everything Cortona?" Jane asked as she landed on her feet.

"Yes, I did. It's recorded into the databanks, ready to be accessed and downloaded by your command," Cortona reported to her superior, who nodded.

"Save it for now. We'll show it to our superiors later once we get a complete picture of everything."

Cortona was about to acknowledge when Eliza's frantic voice reported over the comms, " _All hands, security alert. Captain John Sheppard was attacked by one of the aliens in stasis. Assume he is hostile. All crewmembers are ordered to stay at their post while security forces converge into the hanger bay to subdue the alien. Repeat..._ "

Jane did not need a moment to curse as she went to a personal locker for weaponry. She quickly found her weapons and armor and picked up her two melee weapons and her M-77 Paladin Pistol, the only items she could equip herself with at a moment's notice. With her weapons secured on her person, she turned to Velanna to state, "Let's get to the hanger and lend a helping hand. We can't have your boyfriend have all the fun."

"Aye Commander," the woman saluted before the two rushed off to the hanger bay to a situation that resolved itself a few minutes earlier.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 5: Hanger Bay**

**Human Date: February 4, 2183**

It took over twenty minutes to wake five of the ships new 'guests.' Starting with one Leliana, a redheaded, pale-eyed beauty in priestly robes. She was, in fact, a human that was an initiate to the priesthood of a monolithic god similar to Earth's Christianity. She was also one quite skilled with a silver tongue as she helped others have better wake up experience then she had.

**Recall: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 5: Hanger Bay**

**Human Date: February 4, 2183**

Darkness, oh how it brings dread was what Leliana thought as she remembered how it came to be. She was with a large group of templars (mage hunters), priestess and initiates like her who represented the Chantry. A religion focused on the one true God, the Maker. Her group's purpose was to meet with a nomadic clan of elves known as the Dalish Elves to form a sort of alliance due to the increased threat of the darkspawn over the last thirty years. All the while looking for ways to convert them from their Polynomial gods, the Creators, to the Maker and to deal with what Leliana would quote from the Revered Mother part of the mission, 'Heretics.'

Therefore, they were meeting with the representatives of the Dalish Elves, and she was striking up a conversation with one of the mages, a bubbling black-haired girl named Merrill. She found the pale-eyed girl with hair braided into several different strands to be a joy. The girl's naïve wonder was refreshing to Leliana. However, that naivety came crashing down when the earth shook and opened up for the darkspawn. They were running away from something, but from what did not matter at the moment as they attacked them anyway. With her trusted bow, she fought back with the Dalish warriors and templars.

They were winning, until they met a threat in the form of a swarm of insects that covered them, freezing them into a world of darkness. She could not see the hands as cold as their souls as they lifted her up. She could not even squirm as she heard growling, a predatory voice state, "These subjects will make proper test subjects. Take them away for storage; the darkspawn will need them for my army."

That was the last thing Leliana heard before she was put into something like an organic cocoon, entrapping her within something fluid. All she remembered were soulless yellow eyes as she entered into a world without dreams, light or darkness. A world of nothingness that Leliana could not forget as her eyes fluttered open to an entirely new, alien world.

It was a world of metal and lights so strange they seemed more magical than magic. She felt her heartbeat bounce off the scale as an older woman with silver hair and clothing made of finer material than most nobles had come into view. She spoke comforting words as she calmed her distressed patient, "Hello, my name is Doctor Chakwas, a healer if you will, and you're aboard the _CSS Normandy_. May I have your name?"

The woman, unsure if this 'Doctor' could be trusted, threw caution to the wind as she answered the older woman, "I'm Leliana, a Lay Sister of the Chantry," as she tried to raise herself out of the pod.

Only to feel sick as Chakwas helped her up, "Take it slowly, you've been in cryostasis for several months and…"

"Cryo what?" Leliana asked, confused by this 'Doctor's' term.

"It means the pod put you in a deep sleep for a long time," Dr. Chakwas explained to her patient as another voice advised caution.

"Doctor, I suggest you step back. We have no idea how people so primitive will react to what most would call the modern times."

Feeling insulted, Leliana looked up to see who called her primitive to get the shock of her life as she pointed at the crew with a shaking hand, starring at the geth, krogans and the single quarian. "Where am I? What is this place?"

"You're aboard the _CSS Normandy_ , a Confederation Alliance of Worlds warship," spoke a man that approached her. "I'm Captain John Sheppard, commander of this ship with Rear Admiral Anderson."

"A ship? A ship from where? The Fade?" Leliana asked in shock.

"The Fade?" Anderson asked with interest while Leliana babbled on.

"How else can you explain a ship made of more metal than the whole battalion of Chivalry from Orlesian? Along with blinking, magical lights, walking, talking mechanical golems, and beast that would make the qunari look tiny."

"Ha-ha-ha," laughed one of the krogans she later would find out was the leader of the Krogans: Urdnot, Wrex. "Glad to see we are still the biggest badass in the galaxy!"

Leliana could not take much more as she slumped, "I think I need to lie down."

"None of that," Dr. Chakwas advised as she helped the woman up. "After being… asleep for so long, your body needs time to adjust itself. Besides, I may need your help in calming down the others."

"Others?" Leliana asked she turned to the other pods to see five more, including one with a small, petite elf with black hair tied into a braid.

"Merrill!" Leliana called out as she rushed towards the pod with a burst of speed that she did not know she could produce. It did not take her long to reach the sleeping woman. Concerned, Leliana turned to the crew to ask, "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, she and the others were put into a cryosleep," Dr. Chakwas explained.

Leliana then looked at the other pods, trying to see if she recognized any of them and found none were familiar, "Is this all of us."

"No," replied the mechanical being she later knows as Legion-VII. "There are ninety-three more units on the Primary Colony World known as Eden Prime. An additional nine hundred units were killed before allied units shot down the ship at Eden Prime world."

Leliana looked down sadly, thinking of the people who had died when she picked up what Legion-VII said, "World? Do you mean I am not on Thedas?"

"Thedas! Ha, so that's where you from, good to know where we are going darkspawn hunting!" laughed the second krogan, Trex while Chakwas took over.

"Technical you're between worlds right now, but in a sense, your right," Chakwas told the young woman.

"Why am I here?" Leliana had asked as she tried desperately to wrap her mind around the subject.

"We need information," John stated bluntly. "We need to know who took you and who helped Saren rise an army of darkspawn that just recently attacked Eden Prime. Finding your world and eliminating the darkspawn would be at this point, the icing on the cake."

"Darkspawn is here on other worlds, and someone is controlling them, but how?" Leliana asked a tall man she thought was from the Ander Fields named Anderson came to speak in a deep tone filled with wisdom.

"Let's just say that we live in a world with such advanced technology, it seems like magic, and someone is using it to control them," Anderson attempted to explain to the lost woman. "I know, this is a lot to take in, but we need your help to stop a madman from killing any more of our people."

Leliana bit her lip as she looked at the people in the pods, trying to decide what to do before she nodded in agreement, "Okay, I'll help you wake them up, but I recommend you wake the qunari last. I've… never met one but I heard their people are like an avalanche, and one it took four Exalted Marches to beat back in their war of conquest."

"Are my people that violent?" asked the single qunari female, Sarah, who Leliana just noticed.

"You have a qunari serving on your ship? How?" Leliana asked in shock.

"Let's just saw the Confederation is very accepting of members of our multi-species alliance," John explained to the young woman. "Now let's wake your friends so we can explain everything all at once," John ordered as Chakwas went to Merrill to begin the process.

She activated her glowing omni-tool, shocking Leliana further as she asked, "Are you a mage."

Chakwas just smiled, as she stated, "No, I was not born with any special abilities."

"Then how are you…?" Leliana tailed off as Chakwas gave her a simple answer.

"Let us just say some tools will be explained later. Now let's wake up your friends."

**End Recall**

Merrill was the first to awake, and the others followed similar reactions to Leliana, though a bit calmer thanks to her and later Merrill. The first to awaken following Merrill was a human with the dwarf gene, named Varric. A surface dwarf merchant who had light, auburn hair, burly chest left open from his brown jacket and an unshaven face without a beard. He wore a golden earring and coat that screamed classy storyteller, unlike the next person that awakened that appeared to be a rebel. Anders was a tall mage that was all too happy to appease his host when they revealed they did not know what a 'Templar' was. The rebel with a short, light brown slick ponytail revels in their acceptance of him, as the smirk appeared on his thin, unshaven square chin. A smirk that was not nearly as smug as an elf with a messy, dirty blond-haired elf named Zevran. An elf Leliana recognized as an assassin for a planet's organization called the Crows, due to his tattoos. The tattoo man was handled with great caution as they moved onto their final guest, the qunari that databanks said his name was Sten.

"Alright, Doctor, I want you to stay back for now, in case the subject is as dangerous as our guest indicated," John advised the doctor, who scolded but obeyed his orders all the same as she stepped away from the pod as it activated.

"Trust me, my friend, a qunari is as dangerous as they are tall," the elf, Zevran stated as he eyed the room, especially the young, female qunari.

"We'll see," John ordered as Tali reported the pod was beginning to open up.

With a loud swoosh, the front of the cocoon opened like a self-moving puzzle, showing the giant within. The man named Sten was a tall man with long, white braided hair with a stern face even as he slept. He was a powerful man with one noticeable feature that he lacked compared to other known qunari, horns. Something Sarah noticed as she studied every ounce the first male qunari she had ever seen. She found her face warming up as John came in close, followed closely by Legion-VII and Trex. All the while, Ashley watched over the other guests with her new gun with her biotic friend, Kaidan.

They waited for the sound of a hiss as the qunari slowly opened his eyes; taking in the world around him as he slowly rose up. He continued to examine the room until John stepped into view, ready to fight at a moment's notice. The purple-eyed qunari examined John, as he growled, "Where am I human?"

"You are aboard my ship, the _Normandy_ , on which you currently are a guest after we rescued you," John told the qunari as he rose up to his feet. This beast of a man did not seem to feel the effects of being in cryosleep for months.

John recognized the strong man as the qunari looked to his side and noticed something was missing, "Where is my sword?"

"We took it away from you as it is standard procedure when we are conducting first contact with unknown factions," John told the qunari, who looked enraged.

"Return my sword, now!" the qunari growled at John, trying to intimidate him.

John was about to refuse the man when Leliana spoke up behind him, "Please give it to him. From the books I read, qunari warriors consider their sword as a part of their soul. To be without it, well, their life is considered forfeit."

John looked at Leliana before he turned toward a container that held their 'guest's' weapons. All of them were tagged and ready to be returned if they proved to be non-hostile, or in this case, for peace. John picked up the sword to hand the sword back to the qunari who immediately calmed him down. That was until John quietly commented, "It's not like it's much of a threat with something so primitive."

Leliana could not express her horror in time as the statement sent Sten in a berserker mood as he raised his sword high to strike at John. John only had a brief warning before he raised his arm in defense. Sten expected to cleaved the man's arm in half, but that was not so. Instead, he was shocked to see a blue shield protect John for a few seconds before its collapse. Giving the soldier sufficient time to provide the pod groups' second surprise as John fired off a biotic push to send Sten stumbling back. He stared at the human; not paying attention to the 'magical' voice as it reported he had attacked the human.

"So, you are a mage?" Sten asked the human.

"No, I am not," John stated as his two trusted men, Legion-VII and Trex stood next to him, their weapons ready to fight a qunari whose rage began to boil.

"Don't lie to me!" Sten yelled as he rushed towards John with his sword raised high, only to feel that it was blown out of his hands by a loud bang.

With great shock, Sten turned to see the second giant creature, Wrex, who had blasted his sword away with his shotgun. Sten glared at the scared krogan as he stated, "Oh, you got fire in your heart, I'll give you that. But I am also disappointed that you don't seem to realize how much shit you're in right now."

Sten looked at the krogan, then back to the three soldiers in front of him, as he soaked in the images with great focus. He looked past the second krogan to examine the humans that surrounded him and the machine (geth) with a glowing right arm. Magic or what the qunari had perceived as magic unnerved him, for he was always taught magic is evil. And such thinking was forcing him to decide whether he should fight to the death or not. He did not realize that if John and Legion-VII could not stun him, he would be blown away before he made a step. All the while, the others from Thedas looked at each other nervously.

"This is not going to end well. With the all the magic these people fling\ around, I don't think our tall friend is going to surrender without a fight," commented the elf, Zevran as he mentally absorbs everything in the room, including the guards that moved closer towards them.

As opposed to the tall blond man Anders who stated, "That was no magic."

"Are you sure blondie, it seems like the entire room is very 'magical,'" commented the dwarf, Varric.

"Yes," Anders answered with a twitched in his eye. "I can sense magic, but it's not in this room. Whatever this is, it is not magic."

"Maybe it's beyond magic, like how pretty-pretty butterflies are beyond those wormy caterpillars," Merrill pointed as she spoke in a wildish accent.

"It is beyond something, but according to the healer, it is something explainable. She said this is all advanced technology from an advanced society," Leliana pointed as she looked at Chakwas being held back by the ship's security.

"Well regardless how advanced they think they are. They're going have to put the qunari down unless something drastic happens," Zevran commented when something drastic walked pass him.

No longer willing on just stand on the sidelines, Operations Chief Sarah Sinclair made a choice as she moved to confront Sten. She hoped to establish a peaceful dialogue, which was only possible by getting close to the qunari. She did not get far when Kaidan noticed her and moved to intercept, "Whoa Sarah, don't get any closer. We don't need you to get close enough to become a hostage for him to use."

"But sir, I think I can talk him down," Sarah explained to Kaidan as his fellow lieutenant spoke up.

"Not worth the risk of putting our communication specialist in harm's way," Ashley Williams pointed out.

"I disagree, ma'am," Sarah stated. "We know nothing about my people. All of us taken in by the CAW were too young to remember. He could provide valuable information about my race and maybe help calm the others we left on Eden Prime down when we wake them. It's worth the risk."

Kaidan nodded in agreement, as he turned to Ashley to state, "She has a point."

Ashley sighed in acceptance as she stated, "Fine, but if he so much as takes a hostile step towards you, I will put three bullets into his chest. I am not about to lose another soldier. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Sarah saluted as she approached Sten's line of sight.

Meanwhile, the qunari was still weighing his option when he heard movement coming towards him with a steady step. Curious, he turned to see his surprise, a female qunari walking towards him. Sten stared at the woman as he heard another voice yell out, "Operation Chief Sinclair, what are you doing?"

"I am hoping to end this without any bloodshed Admiral. Please give me a chance?" Sarah pleaded with Anderson as he stood, pointed his M96 Mattock at Sten.

The Admiral sighed as he stated, "Okay and good luck."

Sarah nodded as she faced the qunari who stated, "Who are you and why are you with these humans and creatures around me? Are you Tal-Vashoth?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sarah told the warrior who looked disturbed.

"How do you not know the Tal-Vashoth? All qunari across Thedas should know what a Tal-Vashoth is," Sten practically yelled at Sarah, who looked as steady as a rock due to her training.

"Because I was raised by humans and we are very far from your homeworld. In fact, we are in the space between worlds right now," Sarah told the man who raised an eyebrow.

"Explain," Sten demanded as Sarah looked for a thoughtful answer.

"As I learned at a young age, seeing is believing. And I think there is only one way to explain it is to show you," Sarah sighed as she turned towards her commanders. "Sir, can we show them what it means to be a galactic civilization?"

The Admiral and Captain looked at each other; trying to decide whose decision, it was when Anderson gave a nod of encouragement to John to make the right choice. John did not disappoint, "Eliza, erect a barrier between the hanger door, and open the door. Joker, back us up and get a good view of the planet below us."

" _You got it, sir_ ," Joker acknowledged over the comm.

And Eliza followed up with, " _On it, Captain_ ," before she worked her magic.

It was that moment Sten would reevaluate his whole view of the universe when he heard the sound of moving metal behind. He turned to see that the hanger door behind him and open to reveal the galaxy to him and the citizens of Thedas. For his very eyes a content of Eden Prime three thousand kilometers away from the planet. His eyes never wavered from the green world as he asked a straightforward question, "What is this?"

"That is Eden Prime, a colony world for the Human Systems Alliance and the Krogan Clan Alliance, both members of the Confederation Alliance of Worlds," Sarah explained to the disturbed. "The planet is one of the hundreds of planets we control, with a population of over three hundred million humans and five hundred million krogans. And this is not even the most populated planet found in Confederation Space."

A fact that was embedded into the qunari's head as he stared at the rotating world before him. A world that was getting smaller as the foreign human, Anders gasped, "We're moving away from the planet."

"Yes, we are," Kaidan had told their guest with a smile bringing the others out of their thoughts as the elevators behind them opened to allow Jane, Velanna and a squad of soldiers behind them. They were ready to fight as Sarah closed the gap between her and Sten.

"We're not your enemy Sten, and if you help us, we can help you, but first you have to trust us," Sarah begged the man who looked at the younger qunari before he put his greatsword up.

"I will comply, but don't think I will trust people using such magic willing," Sten stated as he crossed his arms.

"This isn't magic, or your understanding of such things, for the only mages in our group is my sister and my second in command, Velanna," John stated as he pointed to Jane and Velanna. The latter gives a big cheesy grin and smile while the other gave a nervous wave as some of the elves in the Thedas's group stared in shock.

"Then how are you able to do all this?" Sten asked in shock.

"Very advanced technology," Sarah answered for her Captain.

Sten looked up confused as he started, "Explain?" and Anderson was the one to provide the qunari the answer.

"Think about it this way. Say, if you journeyed back in time to see your ancestors at a time before they had even developed a tool. Then ponder what they would think of a man with armor that protects him from most blows, a bow, and arrow that can kill targets beyond their reach, and a sword stronger than the improvised weapon they could find in the woods. They would think you used magic, just as you thought we did."

Sten raised an eyebrow to the Admiral as he asked, "How is this possible?"

"We can do more than that!" Jane yelled as directed the soldiers to leave. "Come to the Mess Hall, and we'll give you the basics of the twenty-second century."

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 3**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

In the center of the ship's bow was a large room known as the Mess Hall. An open facility connected to close doors like the crew quarters, the elevator, the restrooms, and sickbay. Although the people of Thedas did not know that as they sat around a metal table, enjoying a good meal produced from the Mess Hall's open kitchen that had enough supplies to feed an army several times over. Food was slowly chewed up as they assimilated basic information given by Admiral Anderson, Captain John Sheppard, Commander Jane Sheppard, Lieutenant Commander Velanna O'Connell, and Chief Operation Officer Sarah Sinclair, all of whom were in dress uniforms, despite Jane's grumbling. They learned about the Milky Way Galaxy, the various spacefaring species and their powers, basic information on current technology, and how to use the codex to gain even more information on their own. Just in time for Joker to report that they were cleared to leave the system.

"So, the stars in the sky are more extensive than anyone has thought, and I am the first dwarf from Kirkwall to see the beauty found among the stars," Varric stated with a small laugh while Anders smiled.

"Personally, I think it's great that mages have basic rights in the galaxy. The Chantry can learn a thing or two."

"Foolish," Sten added while Anders continued talking.

"I am very interested in biotics, and the studies were done on both biotics and mages. This could answer a lot of questions."

"I am more interested in these implants that make you immune to possession. If we had such things, people would be less fearful of mages for they cannot be possessed," Merrill added with a sparkle in her eye.

Sparkles Leliana dashed by adding, "Maybe, if you take away the ability to use Blood Magic."

"What's Blood Magic?" Jane asked out of curiosity.

"You don't know what Blood Magic is?" asked Anders in shock, while nearly every Confederation crewmember presented a blank face. Almost everyone except an elf that looked scared.

"I do..." Velanna answered with a raised hand. "It's a power that uses blood to do terrible things like kill, torture, control and drain targets."

"So basically, the three Harry Potter's forbidden curses rolled into one," Jane stated as John raised an eyebrow at the compressing.

"Harry what?" Zevran asked the group as he waited for an answer.

"A popular series of fictional books about magic before mages existed on our world," Jane explained to the ship's guest.

"Often the best source of information is a story. It's more enthralling then reality," Varric laughed as Sarah shook her head.

"Maybe to you, but to me, fiction is still fiction," Sarah pointed.

"Much like Blood Magic is… to us. I don't think anyone in the Confederation can use blood magic due to the implants that keep us from being possessed by demons. It enhanced some of our powers and limits others," Velanna added with the nervous pitch as everyone stares at her.

"Hm, maybe you people are not as foolish as I thought," Sten added as he looked at the crew with a raised eyebrow.

However, before anyone can speak, John growled at the small talk, "Enough with the questions, we need information on who attacked us. Can you help us?"

The six in the room looked at each other before Varric spoke first, "I'm sorry Shepard, but I couldn't remember seeing anything when my brother's caravan was attacked by the darkspawn before we were swarmed by insects."

"Same with me and my vanguard as we were scouting out a blood mage from the Tevinter Imperium," Sten reported while the _Normandy_ Crew looked increasingly depressed.

A facet Anderson added to by saying, "That is what happened to me as well. I thought it was karma getting back at me from running away from the Circle. Although when I now think about, it was probably the blond elf that was there with me."

"What can I say," Zevran answered with a shrugged. "I was just returning from a… a mission when I met him in some empty road when we were swamped by the bugs," Zevran quickly added.

"The same thing happened to me and Merrill at the meeting spot between Chantry and the Dalish Elves," Leliana added with Merrill nodding agreement.

Nodding with the others in despair, just before the young bubbling girl brought the crew hope, "Yep and the only other thing I remember was the odd voice ordering us into those pods."

"Yes, I heard a similar voice ordering us into those… stasis pods, right?" Sten asked, and the crew nodded as Anderson looked thoughtful.

"Can you describe this voice?" Anderson asked.

"Um… it made a deep tenor echo that seemed to be also high in pitch," Sten noted with Merrill and Leliana nodded along while the other looked confused.

"Really, mine sounded like a high-class woman," Varric added with a smirk joined by Anders and Zevran.

"Well, I don't know about the woman, but from your description, the other could be turian," Anderson said with a thoughtful expression. "Eliza, please play a voice log of the last time me and Saren mixed words."

" _Aye-aye Admiral_ ," Eliza replied over the comms before a recording of a voice was played.

" _You don't know how lucky you are Anderson. Just don't think it will hold out for you. For the next time that you interfere with my mission will be your last,_ human. _Saren out._ "

And with a click, Saren had hung up on the recording, and the three members had a name of the man that captured them. "That's him, that the one. I'm sure of it," Leliana stated with glee as Anderson smiled.

"Got you, you son of a bitch," Anderson stated as he held up the Ghosting Crystal that held Nihlus last thoughts. "With this crystal and evidence supporting our case, we've finally got Saren in a place the Council can't push under the rug. I'm finally going to get that bastard."

"Sir, what about the woman?" Sarah asked the four members.

"We'll find out who she is later. Right now, we have a chance to strip Saren of his rank as a SPECTRE, and we should take it," John stated with conviction as the members of Thedas looked unsure.

"What about us?" Anders asked for the group.

"For now, you come with us to our Embassy on the Citadel to act as a witness and decide your fate for later," John told the six members that reluctantly agreed.

The crew was just about to settle when Joker said over their comms, " _Attention all hands we are about to hit the Mass Relay in this system. If you want an up-close view of Citadel, I suggest you get to a window now._ "

Anderson nodded as he rose up, "I believe this meeting is adjourned. If you want to see the Citadel, I suggest you get to the cockpit. Especially you Captain, Commander. I want you to make sure Joker doesn't take any detours."

Jane smiled as she practically jumped out of her chair, "Alright then, come on you lot, this is a sight no nubby should miss."

Six followed, unsure how spectacular this 'Citadel' had to be as Sten asked, "Do we have to take the elevators?"

Jane laughed as she pulled them into the elevator as everyone but Anderson followed her. Soon the elevator closed its doors and raced to the top.

**Location: Exodus Cluster/Asgard System/CSS Normandy/Deck 1**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

It had been an odd experience for the people from Thedas, as they looked in wonder at all the glowing consoles, as the people manning their consoles studied them as the majority made their way to the cockpit. Only Sarah went the opposite direction as she went to the back room to work. They soon headed to the cockpit where Ashley, Kaidan, Trex Legion-VII, and Tali, all of them without weapons and in the human cases in uniforms, with Ashley having red stripes to indicate she was a soldier type of officer instead of a tech, biotic, or mage type.

Jane practically ran up to them with a warm smile as she stated, "Hey guys, didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, I was off duty, and I've never seen the Citadel, so I wanted to take a look," Tali answered with a nervous smile while the other nodded along, except Legion-VII who just shrugged.

"Same here," Velanna whispered loud enough for Joker to hear as he types the final bit of the coordinates.

"Then you arrive just in time for we're about to hit the Relay," Joker smiled as he flew in close to the Relay just before in blinding light, it was propelled through the network to their destination, the Serpent Nebula.

A gassy, purple nebula, the Serpent Nebula was a series of gasses that span several light-years. Treacherous to navigate, the nebula would be a dangerous place to go through if it had not been thoroughly explored. And through that exploration, the crew of the _CSS Normandy_ knew where to go to make a beeline through the gasses to an open patch within the nebula known as the Serpents' Window. It was an open field of the face created by a Mass Effect generator coming from a massive space station that was tens of thousands of years old. The enormous station was known as the Citadel.

"Do these wonders never cease to amaze?" Varric asked in awe as he assimilated every piece of it.

It was a massive ringed station with five long arms, making it appear to be giant starfish that can close itself into the shape of a flower bud if necessary. All the while, it was being protected by a fleet of various warships that came in all shapes and sizes. The computer was quickly laying out the classes, most being turian. Warships with long bodies and wings in the aft portion of the ship resembling birds of prey.

Not that most of them noticed as they soaked in the Citadel until Ashley yelled out, "Look at the size of that thing!"

"I know, this space station is impressive my lady friend," Zevran stated with a smile as Ashley shook her head.

"Not the station, the ship," Ashley stated as she pointed to the largest ship she had ever seen.

Over two kilometers long and wide, it was monstrous and resembled a four-point star, with an oval center and a glowing 'eye.' She was a monster of a ship, and the crew could not count the number of guns along the hull. A well-recognized ship as Kaidan exclaimed, "That's the _Destiny Accession_ , the Flagship of the Citadel Defense Fleet."

"That's their flagship?" Anders asked while Sten looked at it with a raised eyebrow.

"It is an impressive ship," Sten added while their pilot scoffed.

"Size isn't everything," Joker said offhand.

"Are you jealous, little man?" Trex laughed while Joker smiled.

"I'm just saying you need firepower too."

"That ship is more than a match for anything allied units can produce," Legion-VII corrected Joker. "The _Destiny Ascension_ and her sister ship, the _Thessia Rose_ , is a larger, more powerful version of the current Asari dreadnaught. Compared to our Unity Class Dreadnaughts, the ship is twenty percent faster and at least two or more times powerful in other areas such as weapons, shields, and armor. Combined with the use of kinetic and practical plasma weapons means she can engage a large fleet on her own. "

"Is that analysis including the rumor that the ship is equipped with the Asari's new upscale PPCs, which are said to be several magnitudes more powerful than our own dreadnaughts?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do not base calculations off rumors," Legion-VII corrected.

"Well I don't think the rumors matter as the cannons on the ship look like they can tear through any ship's barrier in the fleet," Ashley pointed out.

"Good thing they're our allies," Kaidan said as Joker gave a small smile as he came in close.

Then with a click, Joker opened a transmission as he flew pass dozens of ships with showmanship and expert skill, "Citadel Control, this is the _CSS Normandy_ , requesting permission to dock."

" _Standby for clearance,_ Normandy," Citadel Control reported, and after a brief pause, Joker heard additional instructions. "Permission granted, transferring to Confederation Command."

Joker smiled as he acknowledged his orders, "Roger, _Normandy_ out."

Just before the _CSS Normandy_ made a steep turn towards the docking rings, and in few seconds, the ship made it through the force field into a giant hanger. Where the vessel made its descent into one of the bays as the morning clamps attached to the vessel, holding it in place. Joker just smirked as he stated, "We've made it."

"Yes, we did by the Maker," Leliana prayed as the crew planned to disembark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done, and it took far longer than I liked to write out this chapter. I had to rewrite the chapter several times, and combined with a limited of free hours, it dragged on. Well, enjoy the story and please review on which of the Dragon Age characters can be left on the Citadel. I am not going to use all of them and want to hear which of the six you like the least; it can be more than one.  
> Also, for reviews, if you ask the question, please note I only answer through PM. Therefore, if you leave a review as a guest without an account, I will not respond to them. Just to let you know.  
> A) I have been getting some questions on why the Confederation is not the dominant power over the Council due to having the Geth and Krogans. Well for one, the krogans still have to deal with a birth survival rate of one out of fifty. The second is explained in a new codex entry Geth: Population Limit found in the Sentient Species section, which limits the number of geth. Also added a new codex of Manufacturing Rights found in the Codex Weapons and Equipment.


	5. The Politics of the Citadel Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age; they are own by one of the few semi-good companies under EA, Bioware.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/27/2018

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Customs & CNIS Headquarters**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

The Citadel, the crowning jewel of the Citadel Government, was the center of power in the Milky Way Galaxy. No other place had such an extensive collection of diplomats, military leaders, and politicians from both the Citadel Council aligned governments and the Confederation Alliance of Worlds. However, unlike the aligned governments that lobbied their interest to the Citadel Council, the CAW was given a sizable portion of the Citadel to serve as an embassy for the entire Confederation. This portion included its own spaceport and its private federal investigation service located within the spaceport, the Confederation Naval Investigation Services (CNIS), a group that often butted heads with Citadel Security Forces (C-Sec).

Therefore, it was just another day for CNIS when a dark, silver turian in blue C-Sec armor started making noise at the local CNIS offices. The blue painted, white face turian frowned as he looked over the roughed, bricked face human in the black padded police uniform. The older human typed away while the turian with a blue visor on the right side of his face focused on the human's face as he begged for information.

"Bailey, please, you're my only hope. My own investigation against Saren is producing little results due to the Council making everything that bastard touches top secret. But I know the Confederation have kept records on his movements. Combined with a lead I have, I can nail the bastard if you help me."

The CNIS agent Bailey sighed as his pale brown eyes looked up at Turian's deep blue eyes, "I'm sorry Garrus, but I can't help you there. If I give you any information about our investigation, the Council could try to suppress it to make sure their prized SPECTRE isn't convicted."

"Then I can work this off the books, and-" Garrus started but was stopped mid-sentence by Bailey.

"No Garrus, I am not going to allow one of the few C-Sec Officers I like to risk his career for a big maybe. Especially since we have enough evidence to nail that son of a bitch!" Bailey exclaimed as he pounded his desk before he calmed down. "Trust me kid; don't put your career on the line for something that is not a sure thing regardless of what you do."

"I'll try," Garrus had sighed as he slowly got up and was about to leave when he gave some parting words. "But tell me this Bailey, if one of your own betrayed your people, and your superiors didn't want to admit it. Would you let it go?"

Bailey was strangely quiet as Garrus left his office with a frustrated sigh. He had had a disappointing day until he saw a large, unique group passed by him. It did not take eyes as keen as his to tell him most of them were elite troops from the Confederation. Especially the two lead humans he had only seen on recruitment posters. However, the two things that stood out to him was that a portion of the group wore what appeared to be modern armor modified to appeal similar to robes or primitive style human armor seen during their Medieval and Renaissance era. The other was a young, dare he say, cute, quarian that looked nervous as she walked through the Citadel without the visor her people usually wear with their helmets. He could not help but linger as he watched the group leave when he got a beep from his communicator, and he decided to take the call.

"This is Garrus."

" _Garrus, this is Chellick. Your target has just been released by CNIS. He's now in Chora's Den. If you want to talk to him, now is the time_ ," Chellick said through his comm.

"Thanks, Chellick, I owe you," Garrus said with a smirk.

" _Don't thank me Garrus. If Pallin finds outs your continuing your investigation into Saren, he'll chew you out_."

"Don't worry Chellick, I've got this covered," Garrus smirked before he turned off his comm. and moved towards more crowded areas just as the large group reached Bailey's desk.

To say John and Jane's visit to the Citadel has been an experience was an understatement as they walked the extravagant halls and grand architecture that is the Citadel. An incredible sight, but it would be the next few moments that would decide if they would find the experience enjoyable or unbearable. They hoped for the later as they approached one of the head officers in the CNIS.

"Are you the Senior Special Agent Owen Bailey that Admiral Anderson told us to meet before he went on with Wrex and the rest of his senior staff?" John asked the man before him.

Bailey stopped his typing to look up with his steely blue eyes, "Aye that's me. You must be Captain John Shepard and Commander Jane Shepard. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The two men shook hands as Jane smiled, "On behalf of my blunt brother and me, we say the honor is ours and how sorry we are we've dumped all this on you."

Bailey laughed as he spoke in his thick New York accent, "You have only contributed slightly to my woes. That son of a bitch Saren is the one that created the gigantic paperwork I'm forced to work on after he attacked Eden Prime. So, he is the one that deserves my full wrath."

This earned him a laugh as Bailey turned his attention to his other guests. He called up some Officers and Agents to take care of the next step as he addressed his next hurdle, "You must be the civilians that were liberated on Eden Prime. If you please, follow the Officers and Special Agents into the next room, we will get you registered in two shakes."

"It won't be as thorough as it was at um… at customs?" Merrill asked with a blush as she remembered how through they were with handheld scanners, blood samples and so on.

"The scan your… um… engineer used to manufacture the fancy new armor we are wearing for our comfortable protection was not as intrusive," Zevran pointed out for the group as he remembered the surprise he got before they left the ship.

"Trust me, we are not going to be as crazy as those panicking Council members are," Bailey snorted as he smiled gently at the refugees before him.

"As long as it's not as frustrating as the fools at the gate," Sten depended.

"The VIs took care of most of the paperwork before you came here, so it will be as painless as possible," Bailey smiled.

"Thank you," Leliana bowed before heading off to the side room, as she looked around in wonder with Anders, Merrill, and an amused Varric, while Sten looked stern and Varric gave a cocky smile as he went to the next room, leaving the soldiers with the NCIS agent.

"So, security is not usually this tight," Jane broke the silence as the Senior Special Agent laughed in response.

"Not even close," Bailey laughed before his face tightens into a more serious, grim face. "With the darkspawn now attacking planets for the first time in thirty years with unknown technology, the entire galaxy is panicking. Moreover, the ones who are panicking the most is the Citadel Council. In the past few days, they've activated and created a dozen different security procedures for bio-infections, invasions and increased criminal activity brought by refugees and panicking citizens."

"Isn't it a good thing that they are taking security so seriously?" John asked with a raised eyebrow while Trex scuffed in response.

"Yeah, I do think it is necessary that I had to go through a more intense scan twice," Trex sarcastically grumbly as Ashely, Tali and Legion-VII nodded along. Especially Legion-VII as its subroutines wondered why they had to examine a sterilized machine three times.

"And now you see one of the problems with these new security implements," Bailey grumbled to the group. "Some of the officers are using it as an excuse to let out old grudges against others. Another problem is that a number of them are useless and are just implemented to make it seem like they are doing something while tripling the amount of work everyone has to do."

Bailey then sighed in response, "Just another day on the Citadel."

"Sounds like the Citadel is not the paradise the Council wanted people to think," Velanna quietly quipped while Jane looked thoughtful.

"What is the Citadel like?" Jane asked Bailey, who gave a thoughtful answer.

"I have to say it like patrolling New York on Terra (Earth), except bigger and more extreme on both ends despite the smaller population. At the top levels, there is the beautiful Presidium and the restricted Citadel Tower, where diplomats, important businesspeople, lobbyist, and even a few scientists get together to write policies that will affect the entire galaxy. Generally, its the safest area of the entire Citadel; and I can tell you from experience, they are a lot safer than the Wards."

"The Wards?" asked Tali.

"The five long arms attached to the Presidium ring structure," Bailey explained. "It's where most of the action on the Citadel can be found, with a collection of less cultivated bars, shops, arenas, warehouses, factories, casinos, apartments for non-VIPs and strip clubs. It's also where you can find drugs, gangs, organized crime and the dirty politician caught in such a compromising position."

"Anyone we should worry about?" Kaidan asked.

"Well outside of mercenary groups slash gangs like the Eclipse, Blood Packs, and Blue Suns, I would have to say Fist," Bailey stated with a raised eyebrow. "He is a human that recently started a small syndicate and is trying to become big. So, he is trying to make as big of a splash as possible to make a name for himself. The others, I wouldn't worry about as they try not to rock the boat in fear of C-Sec military crashing down on their heads."

John nodded and was about to speak up when the group taken by the officers returned with a marksman in diplomatic white armor, caring standard assault rifle and pistol, along with a Black Widow sniper rifle. A man whose blue eyes held amusement while brushing his short brown hair in a manner that fit his demeanor. He was a casual soldier that gave a curious bow to the group, "Captain John Shepard, Commander Jane Shepard. My name is James Reed, and I was instructed to get you and your guests safely to the Ambassador's Suites before the pencil pushers can descend upon you."

Jane and a few of her fellow squad mates chuckled as John frowned at the Thedas's locals, "Are you done with the paperwork?"

"Yes, and now we're ready to see the rest of this Citadel if you don't delay us any further my friends," replied the cocky elf of the group.

"Then let's go, I doubt the ambassadors want to wait any longer for us dallying around," Jane suggested to her brother.

John nodded as he led the group to the elevators that lead to the Presidium.

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Confederation Embassy Suite**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

It was a short ride for them to reach the beautiful Presidium, a large park with a lake and river running along the park. A park meant for the various diplomats and politicians to relax if they were not so busy working in their own homes and offices. The largest and most active was the one designed for the Confederation Alliance of Worlds, where David Anderson and Urdnot, Wrex waited to be called in alone as the rest of his senior staff waited for orders in another room. John and Jane were about to head into the diplomat's room when Wrex stopped them as they heard the local yelling competition.

"I wouldn't go in there right now. Several members of the ragging egos club are having a heated discussion right now."

"I would say the three butt heads, the ass and Nakmor are in a pissing match, but I guess ragging egos and heated discussion are more diplomatic," James Reed joked, getting a few chuckles.

Hiding his own mirth, Anderson ordered James to leave, and as soon as the marksman complied, he turned his attention to the group, "Well then, as you can tell the Council is not taking our accusations about Saren very well. (Sigh) The Counselors haven't changed since the last time I've seen them."

"You've met them?" Jane asked with a twinkle. "The Codexs don't mention anything about the current Counselors on the Citadel Council."

"Yes, I've met them, unfortunately," Anderson mumbled as he turned to the Thedas's locals. "You've read the Codexs on the Council?"

"Of course, we have my friends. We wouldn't want to wander in on the most powerful people in the galaxy without some knowledge," Varric stated with a smile.

"Then you four prove it by each of you telling me the three dominant races on the Council and the Council government as a whole," Anderson ordered over another loud scream from his ambassador.

A scream Leliana ignore as she was the first to speak up, "Well, the Citadel Council is best to describe as a tight-knit alliance between various governments who ban together to share their resources and military to protect each other from galactic threats. It is made up of at least seven different species. Nine if you include the primitive vorcha and batarian citizen living in Citadel Space. However, despite having so many species, it's only led by three governments, the Asari Republic, the Salarian Union, and the Turian Hierarchy."

"The asari are an all-female race that can live up to a thousand years and are the dominant species on the Council. They have a fully democratic government influenced by their matriarchs while the officials carry out Asari decisions," Merrill said nervously. "They are known to produce the galaxy's best diplomats for the Citadel and are experts when it comes to this Element Zero. As a consequence, they produce some of the most powerful ships in the galaxy. Their army, while small due to being formed from their local communities, it is still formable. The asari take advantage of the fact that they are a biotic race to develop an army of elite troops such as Commandoes and Huntresses to win a battle. Which is amazing that an entire race exists as biotics, I wonder if other species can become either all biotic and mage and if so…" Merrill trailed off before Varric stopped her with a chuckle.

"I think that enough Merrill. No need to go beyond other topics other than the asari is like a poisonous flower, beautiful but lethal to those that are not warry."

"Ironic for a species that is supposed to be about peace," Trex grumbled before he stiffened when Wrex snorted.

"It's easy to be the best diplomats in the galaxy when you have the biggest guns and the best killers to back it up any treaties," Wrex added while Trex nodded at the joke.

"I guess I'm next, and I'll talk about the salarians, the hyperactive frogs that only live longer than a dog by two or three decades with a high reproduction rate where nine out of ten are male, making a female salarian very valuable. Enough so that most make up the leadership and political intrigue similar to monarchs of my, what do you call it, homeworld," Zevran added with mirth. "They are supposed to be the galaxy's best thinkers, and the leaders in inventing new technology such as the planetary shield generators, though I think you guys are giving them a run for their money." After Zevran got a few chuckles as he added, "They are also the Council's main eyes and ears with their STG (Special Task Force). Basically, their forces are a group of spies, saboteurs, and assassins that move across the galaxy to spread their influence, and allow their attack first and worry about the consequences later military doctrine."

"Those organic-units certainly love their spy programs, as proven to be, troublesome, as allied units have to clean out spy programs every time we interface with units allied to the Citadel," Legion-VII reported.

"Tell me about it. Lieutenant Commander Adams complains whenever we're near Council Space due to the need to triple check for spy programs," Tali quipped with a weak smile.

Anderson nodded as he turned to Sten to command him to speak, "And finally the turians."

"The turians are much like qunari under the Qun," Sten said with a stiff lip. "Each individual has a place as the entire population is under a military hierarchy from workers to soldiers. The grand military leaders for each world are known as the Primarchs, with the Primarch from Palaven entrenched as the head of the entire Turian nation. Because of this, they are the main police force of the galaxy and have the largest army and attack fleet an individual race can produce, with the largest number of dreadnaughts."

Wrex nodded as long as David smiled, "Good to see you have the general sense. Now the three Counselors in power are Tevos, Valern, and Sparatus. Tevos is much like most asari, she opts for diplomacy before violence. But unlike most asari, she is a political animal who puts the Asari's influence above all else and has four hundred years of experience to ensure she gets what she wants. Valern is one of the few male salarians in power and is rumored to have close ties to STG, which he uses to keep his opponents on their toes. Then there is Sparatus. Sparatus is like most turians, who takes the security of the Citadel very seriously. And due to said mentality, he is also the only one openly hostile to the idea of the Confederation being outside Council immediate control. Tevos is patient, and Valern believes our independence will not last long. Due to such… hatred, he will be the most frustrating to deal with, so don't provoke him if you can help it.

"Overall, they are the most dangerous politicians you will ever meet. So be cooperative and watch what you say for they have long memories, and they will make your life frustrating."

And with those words floating in the air, a black geth, Legion's Shadow appeared before them as it decloaked. Zevran whistled as he asked, "How did you do that? And is it possible I can I do it as well?"

"This unit used a cloaking device that refracts light and energy to make units such as this one disappears from most sensors, including visual. As long as a unit has the equipment or modified armor, any unit can use it as long as nothing disrupts the field."

"I want one," Zevran quietly added with a whisper. "It will be quite useful for accidents."

Legion's Shadow took note of Zevran before it turned to the high-ranking personal, "The Council is about done Wrex-Supreme Commander and Anderson-Rear Admiral. You may come in now."

The group nodded as they walked in to see Udina expressing his rage, "This is an outrage! You wouldn't be allowing Saren to walk around free if it was a Turian colony that was attacked!"

"The Council is not about to put one of our top SPECTREs on hold every time they are accused of a crime on here say," spoke the salarian repressive, a thin bipedal amphibian with their three-digit finger, large eyes, a long face, and two organic horns. A species that humans had a hard time telling the difference in individuals, but Counselor Valern was distinctive with his grey iris, short snout and wearing blue robes instead of armor or a jumpsuit most salarians wear.

"This is not just here say! We have evidence he attacked one of our colonies with the darkspawn! He is a threat to the entire galaxy, and I demand you do something about it!" Udina yelled at the Council.

"You don't make demands of the Council, Ambassador!" yelled a brown turian, who looked odd wearing the red and blue suit as opposed to most turians who regularly wore armor. However, no one was fooled by the politician's exterior, as Counselor Sparatus was a soldier flared behind the turian's white face paint and green eyes.

A turian who needed to be calmed down as Ambassador Nakmor took over, "And we are not making demands, but we are concerned Saren is not being detained considering the charges and how dangerous he can be, even without the darkspawn."

That was when the asari representative, nodded her head. The asari were considered to be the most beautiful species in the galaxy, and resemble a human female. The only difference was that they were a woman with tentacles on their heads instead of hair, lacked earlobes, and their skin could be shades of blue and purple. Counselor Tevos herself could be considered a cold, beautiful rose with violet-blue skin hidden behind a beautiful blue and red dress that complimented her round face. She was an older asari in the matron stage, the mid-life of an asari's lifespan as evident by the white markings on her upper lip and white strips along her forehead, and each side of her chin and lower lip that were a contrast to her grey eyes.

She was a powerful woman who had great respect for Ambassador Nakmor, as shown in her voice, "And I understand your concerns Ambassador Nakmor, Utag. However, Saren does have the right to defend himself. Citadel Security will report there finding during the hearing."

"And we will report ours," Nakmor, Utag added just before the transmission ended, bringing the two ambassadors' attention to the newcomers.

Udina was the first to let his frustrating out, "Admiral Anderson, Supreme Commander Wrex, I've seen you brought a large number of guests with you."

"Just the ground teams and the survivors we rescued from the ship we've captured. I thought it would be best to bring them in. In case you had any questions," Anderson stated, hiding his own anger against the ambassador.

"We've both read the mission reports. I trust they are in order?" Udina asked with a calmer, yet more vicious tone.

"They are," Anderson stated slowly before switching gears to a parallel track. "I see you're not having much luck with the Council."

"They are not happy," Udina stated with a hidden snarl. "Saren is one of their top agents, and they dislike that we have accused him of not only treason but also bringing the darkspawn onto the galaxy."

"So, they are not in the happiest moods. Especially after such a big failure on your joint mission," Utag added as he looked at Jane.

"It wasn't my fault!" Jane yelled.

"It was no one's fault. No one could have planned against this," John added to placate his sister and the politicians before him. "If there is anyone to blame, it's Saren."

"But that may not matter as several advisors in the Citadel, and Councilor Septimus himself is looking for any reason to disbarred Jane from the SPECTREs," Udina bluntly stated. "Just be glad we have ironclad evidence that they can't ignore, or we may not have a chance to salvage this."

"Speaking of evidence, I believe you have the Ghost Crystal filled with Nihlus's last moment and the recorded information downloaded into Jane's mind?" Utag asked with a raised hand.

"Yes, I have it right here," Anderson replied as he pulled out of his side pocket the Ghost Crystal and a data crystal the _Normandy_ 's AIs recorded. "I recommend you don't activate the Ghosting Crystal until moments before you show them the information as it's upsetting to the turians who believe their spirits are trapped within such vessels."

"Don't worry, I have no attention of starting the next galactic war," Utag stated while Udina checked his omni-tool onboard clock.

"We have eight hours before the meeting starts. I would like to go over some things with Anderson before that time," Udina stated as he tried his best to be civil to Anderson.

"Of course, but I would like to speak with my crew outside to act as chaperones for our guests before the hearing," Anders stated.

"This unit would also like to discuss some more avenues of information allied units can use against Saren and alliances the enemy unit may have built," Legion's Shadow added.

"Very well, we'll meet in the lodge to discuss our options, we'll see you then," Ambassador Nakmor, Utag commanded before he and Udina left the room, leaving behind a large group of fighters behind.

"Well that was certainly a contrast," Jane stated with an amused smile while Ashely saluted.

"Permission to speak up ma'am? Sir?" Ashely William asked.

"Lieutenant, you don't need to ask. Just speak your mind when we're not trying to be diplomatic," John ordered the younger junior officer.

"Yes sir," Lt Ashely Williams acknowledged before she spoked her opinion. "Sir, why is Ambassador Nakmor working with Ambassador Udina. Wouldn't it make more sense to use one diplomat that could be more diplomatic instead of that angry asshole that yells a lot?"

"Despite the fact I'm biting my tongue saying this, despite Udina being a royal ass to everyone he has his uses," Rear Admiral Anderson stated. "Udina's blunt approach is sometimes the only way to negotiate, especially in trade and military negations."

"Plus, he helps soften up diplomats for Utag by allowing the freakishly calm pyjak of a krogan to make people agree with him, even if it is the same deal Udina was suggesting," Wrex added with a smirk.

"Udina-Ambassador's approach has increased favorable agreements to the Confederation by seven percent while Nakmor-Ambassador brings an additional eight percent to favorable agreements," Legion's Shadow reported with Legion-VII nodded in compliance to the information.

"But that doesn't make sense," Tali added in confusion.

"That's politics Ensign, Lieutenant," Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko pointed out.

"I hate politics and the fact it has anything to do with the military." Ashely had stated with a scold before straightening her form and saluted to Anderson, "Sir."

"And sometimes it's necessary, just tolerate it a whole lot and you'll be fine," Anderson recommended before turning towards the others. "Now then, as you can no doubt surmise, the Council is not particularly pleased were accusing Saren of war crimes, and while we have enough to get him, I don't want to wait for his allies."

"In particular are criminal and political units here on the Citadel," Legion's Shadow reported. "While this unit may not have identified specific targets, this unit has identified one unit here on the Citadel that reports to a higher unit that is off the Citadel."

"I recommend you take care of them before the Council hearing later today," Anderson recommended to his two former subordinates.

"Recommend sir?" Velanna asked while staying behind John.

"I've told you before the mission for Eden Prime had started that no matter the outcome, I would step down. And now it's your turn to take command after these final orders," Anderson stated as he addressed his former senior staff from the _CSS Normandy_. "My final orders are that my former Senior Staff aboard the _CSS Normandy_ are to watch over our witness and crew on shore leave as Eliza is transferred aboard the _CSS Waterloo_. So, says the ayes."

"Ayes!" the Confederation personal saluted at their beloved leader's final orders.

"Then so let it be," Anderson smiled as he looked at their guests and his former crewmembers. "Go on; enjoy your time on the Citadel for the Council will not let up when it comes time for the trial."

Two of the members looked ready to leave, but a few others did not want to go just yet. "Is there any way we can help you?" Merrill asked with a small blush on her face.

"No, it's too risky," David Anderson had stated. "You are all valuable witness, and I'm sure Saren will love to make you disappear."

"If that is the case, you would have assigned guards to protect us, instead of your senior staff to act as tour guards," Varric pointed out while Leliana nodded along.

"So please, let us help you nail the bastard that tried to kill us," Leliana begged.

"Well some of us," Anderson added. "I'm not one much for fighting. I prefer to be in the support role than the frontlines. Besides I would like to visit fine establishments and not be judged for being with the Circle for a change."

Anderson ignored Anderson's comment in favor of the ladies that begged to help his former crew, "I'm sorry, but I'm not putting people who have never seen a gun until a single galactic day ago in the middle of a firefight. Besides, you'd be safer in the public areas with chaperons and a few guards shadowing you. Then being confined in a safe house, I'm sure the SPECTREs knew thanks to STG Intelligence. At least in the open, Saren can't attack you without it looking too suspicious for him."

The girls along with Sten and Varick looked defeated or disappointed at the prospect while Anderson looked relieved, and Zevran nodded along. "It's for the best. While I'm skilled at what I can do, I am not sure that it would fit in your investigation. So, with no further ado ladies and gentlemen, I leave you with a pleasant farewell," Zevran slyly smiled, as he walked away, not realizing Legion's Shadow observed with mechanical interest.

Legion's Shadow returned its interest back to the group as Admiral Anderson turned towards John and Jane Shepard's group, "Now then, with the civilians out of the way, Legion's Shadow will lay out a few avenues to peruse."

"Thank you. Anderson-Rear Admiral," Legion's Shadow nodded as it reported to the group. "There are currently three avenues to peruse. The first is to peruse Sha'ira-Consort, an asari that is considered to be many things. An oracle, a leader, a high priestess, a spiritual therapist and a high price escort all rolled in one."

"I've heard of her," Kaidan admitted. "Some of the crew would trade two weeks of their paycheck to visit the Consort or her acolytes. Surprisingly, most of them just want to talk to her, though some of them wouldn't admit it," Kaidan added as a few organic crewmembers looked away in embarrassment.

"Sha'ira-Consort also has the ties to a lot of valuable units on the Citadel and beyond, so at the very least, that unit can talk to the right people to ensure information normally censored would be released and vice-versa. And the asari unit may be willing to help with the investigation if allied units help with a problem that unit is experiencing," Legion's Shadow advised the group.

"We should probably talk to her, even if her loyalties are fluid," Ashely advised.

"Very well, we'll talk to her even if it turns out to be nothing," John mused. "Any more advice that is more concrete?"

"Yes, Shepard-Captain," Legion's Shadow acknowledged. "A more credible source is the former C-Sec and CNIS liaison, Harkin found in a strip club called Chora's Den."

"Harkin! You can't be serious," Anderson snarled.

"This unit is serious Anderson-Admiral," Legion's Shadow answered the shocked Rear Admiral.

"But Harkin is nothing more than a drunk and a corrupt loser that should have been let go on his first day two years ago," Anderson growled in anger.

"A possible sound assumption, but it also is possible the organic unit may be more than perceived," Legion's Shadow pointed out. "Former Harkin-liaison was removed from duty because of his criminal ties with several different organized criminal units on the Citadel. While that wasn't unusual for a corrupt organic like him, one of C-Sec's officer, a turian unit named Garrus Vakarian-Officer, believes one of the criminal organizations Harkin deals with has ties to Saren-SPECTRE."

"Okay, while I'm loathed to ask this, why don't we talk to this turian instead of Harkin?" Trex asked while gritting his teeth.

"Because allied CID units tasked with intercepting C-Sec communication have found out the turian unit has gone underground to investigate a case C-Sec closed. Finding corrupted unit Harkin would at the very least lead to Vakarian-Officer, and at best get you the information on the corrupted-units we seek," Legion's Shadow pointed out that shocked Tali'Zorah and Ashely to different degrees.

"Isn't spying on our supposed allies considered illegal?" Ashely William asked.

"It's illegal for them to spy on this collective, but the collective knows the other collective do it anyway to get ahead of our collective, so the collective does the same to counter their attacks in what allied units call the Game. A game every unit has to play when units first formed collective units," Legion-VII explained.

"It still doesn't make it right," Tali said under her breath.

"No, it doesn't Ensign, but sometimes it doesn't matter in the end, and you have to hope you don't have to make the dirty choice to survive," Anderson admitted. "And speaking of dirty jobs, I loathe the thought that ass Harkin being useful but sometimes you have to win with a shitty hand."

"At least the corrupted unit won't cost a fortune to get information as oppose to the next unit," Legion's Shadow stated. "The final recommendation is a Volus unit named Barla Von-banker, a banker-unit that has ties with SPECTREs and a known information broker for the Shadow Broker unit."

"The Shadow Broker?" Ashely and Trex asked at the same time.

"An Information Broker of the highest level. He, she, it has been playing the game for years and accumulated enough agents and information that every government has to play his game," Anderson explained to the group.

"For the right price, an individual can get any source of information from him," Tali stated with a nervous twirl "When my people were wandering the stars, they often dealt with the Shadow Broker for information like the locations of empty systems to strip down to keep my people alive. Of course, we also knew that the Shadow Broker stole a few pieces of technology we salvage or made as well to sell to others."

"Which makes it a burden dealing with the Shadow Broker unit," Legion's Shadow explained. "That unit has agents everywhere and is able to collect vital information, forcing collective governments to either pay to keep it hidden or to acquire it. The unit must be extremely wealthy with the standoff between the Confederation and Council collectives."

"Aye and he doesn't take betrayal well," Wrex whistled with a smile. "Some of my best-paying jobs when I was mercenary were to execute those that betrayed his trust."

"So, we have a high-class consular slash whore, a sleazebag, a hothead cop, and an information broker. So many great choices," Jane said with sarcasm. "Well, I talk to the Consort and Harkin since I do have more tact than my dear brother."

"I'll deal with Barla Von and C-Sec to possibly find anything about Garrus if Harkin is less reliable then Anderson indicated," John nodded to Anderson.

"Sound likes you're ready to face the world," Anderson added with a smile. "Then I will take my leave. Good luck."

Soon Anderson and Legion's Shadow left the group alone in the office as the group tallied up their teams, "I'll take Lieutenant Commander Velanna, and Lieutenant Kaidan, Legion-VII and Trex. You take Lieutenant Ashely Williams and Ensign Tali'Zorah nar Normandy."

"And me," Wrex stepped up and volunteer. "No way am I going to miss seeing both Shepards in action. And since I've seen the Captain at work, it's time to see how the Commander does it."

"Does that mean you're in command, sir?" Jane asked while Trex cursed his luck in missing out on the chance to see Wrex at work.

"Nope, you are. I am sick of ruling over hotheads, so I leave it to you. I expect you to treat me like one of your subordinates when I travel with you," Wrex added with a smirk.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Jane added as a swirl of uneasiness in commanding the man who leads the Krogans.

She quickly swallowed her fear as John ordered them to move out to complete their first mission without the old man over them. Jane was exceedingly nervous as they took the first steps to greater Presidium itself.

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Park and Consort Offices**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

To say the Presidium was beautiful was an understatement of galactic proportion. For as far as the eye could see was not only beautiful architecture but also a large lake/canal in the center of the Presidium surrounded by flora native to every corner of the galaxy. An attractive design that was not what the Protheans intended, but did not stop the current natives to convey beauty beyond one's dreams. The most beautiful area within the Presidium was a garden right before the offices of the Consort.

Built as a symbol of beauty and unity that litter asari philosophy, the garden was made up of several different flowerbeds large enough to walk through. Each bed different and filled with a dozen different species of flowers/equivalent found on the homeworlds of every spacefaring species. Jane smiled at the smell of lavender and honeysuckle mixed in the air as the group walked through the archway into the Consort lobby. A beautiful room filled with long couches, chairs, and Jacuzzi, occupied by clients, and acolytes, mostly asari with the odd human female and rare female from other species working just as hard as the asari acolytes.

At the very front of the room was a reception with the holographic plaque inscribed with the name ' _Acolyte Nelyna._ ' She was a perky asari with bluish dark skin with white paint on her face. She was a beauty that conveyed enough sexuality to match her flimsy dress. She gave a charming smile to newcomers as she pulled up the Consort's schedule.

"Hello, my name is Nelyna, an Acolyte to the Consort. I don't recognize as one of our expected clients today, especially such important people like Commander Shepard and the Supreme Commander of the Krogans. Would you like to schedule an appointment?"

"Can't I just go in?" Jane asked with curiosity.

"Hm, I'm afraid not," Nelyna admitted though she was tempted by such a handsome/beautiful people from their respective species. "You must understand that many seek the Consort services, but only a few actually get to meet with her. In fact, most of our clients here today are only here to see our acolytes while waiting a few months to actually meet her."

"Wait a few months to meet someone? What makes the Consort so special?" Jane asked the 'young' asari before her.

"Well, the Consort is a remarkable woman that is difficult to explain," Nelyna admitted nervously. "She's many things to many people and something different for each. Some seek her for advice, some seek her entertainment and others seek her for pleasure. Most of the time, our clients don't realize what they are seeking until she provides it to them."

"You make it sound like she's some kind of Oracles like the ones found in Ancient Greek's mythology," Ashely pointed out.

Nelyna shook her head in amusement for answers, "Not in the usual sense. She's merely a woman; a woman with remarkable skill, kindness, and a very generous spirit."

"And you're her followers?" Tali asked with a blush as she noticed an acolyte was getting close to one of the clients.

"In a sense, yes," Nelyna admitted. "We all felt a calling to the Consort, and we accept all walks of life, even occasionally female members from other species. Though it does appear humans are becoming more common, I guess your species are really spreading your wings," Nelyna added with a wink before she continued the conversation.

"As Acolytes, we learn under the Consort various different aspects of her craft; though we acolytes often focus on a single aspect like a song, dance, game, conversation, and even pleasure."

"And what's your specialty?" Wrex asked with a smirk.

One Nelyna returned, "My specialty is touch. My fingertips can find every tension point in your body and… relieve it."

"I think I may want to try such service," Wrex laughed in response as Nelyna exclaimed in excitement.

"Excellent, we'll add you to the client list and hopefully see you in a month."

Wrex lost his joys as he stated, "You can't be serious. No woman is worth that long of a wait to relieve stress."

"Oh, if you think that's bad, then you should see the waitlist for the Consort, its three to four months long," Wrex explained to the shocked group. "Regardless, I'll add you to both client lists, and I'll add you as well Commander, and you should hear back from us."

"Um… great, I guess," Jane added while unsure if she should since she is not usually interested in women. "But I actually want to talk to the Consort now," Jane had stated as she leaned over to give the acolyte charming smile. "I heard she has been experiencing trouble and I am good at helping people. So, I was hoping to trade one favor for another."

"I don't know. She's very busy and may not have the time to meet strangers…" Nelyna started off but stopped as her desk beeped.

Soon a beautiful voice called out behind the speakers on Nelyna's desk, " _Nelyna_."

"Yes Sha'ira," Nelyna replied.

" _Send the Commander up, I wish to speak with her,"_ Sha'ira commanded as off in the distance, a screen door closes, as though someone was spying on them.

"Yes of course Consort," Nelyna bowed before she turned to them with a smile as the sound of footsteps echoed through the walls. "Looks like the Consort will meet with you after all."

"Thank you Nelyna," Jane bowed in response.

"Just don't have too much fun up there," Nelyna winked at a confused human before directing Jane to the entrance to the Consort offices.

The group was about to go with Jane, but Nelyna stopped them with her words, "I am sorry, but the Consort only wants to talk to the Commander at this time. If you follow me, me, and my fellow acolytes we'll make sure the rest of you are comfortable," Nelyna told Jane's companions.

"Do I have to meet her alone?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No offense Shepard, but the feeling I'm getting from my mother's bones tells me this is something we should not intrude on. We'll see you when you're done with the hot asari waiting for you upstairs," Wrex laughed as he followed two lovely asari along with Tali'Zorah and Ashley Williams, leaving Jane alone.

Jane sighed as she moved through the screen door that led to not only to a hallway of rooms where the Acolytes could sleep but a set of stairs to another room. A large room filled with everything needed to entrained guests for every kind of party, including the adult ones. For some reason, Jane felt like her entire body perspired as she stared into the back of a very beautiful asari in red and blue skintight slip dress that exposed her back and midsection.

The baby blue matriarch with a dark scalp seemed to have psychic powers when she ordered Shepard to stop when she stepped onto the carpet floor. "That's close enough Commander. I've heard a great many things about you even before you came to the Citadel."

Jane felt like butterflies as she stood with confidence, "Then you know why I am here."

"Of course, you need help against Saren's allies and your hopping I can help you if you do me a favor," the Consort smiled as she turned to face Jane with a smile. Brilliant blue eyes stared into Jane's powerful green eyes as she stated, "And I can offer you some aid. In fact, the favor I ask will lead you to the very things your search for."

"And what is the favor?" Jane asked as Sha'ira came closer.

The Consort loved how nervous she made Jane feel as she rubbed her cheek affectionately, "There is a turian named Septimus Oraka. He's a retired general who had seen too much action and needs my help to put it to rest. I won't go into specific details, but I couldn't be what he wanted me to be and is now drinking his trouble away in Chora's Den while spreading vicious lies about me."

"So, you want me to talk to him?" Jane asked as the Consort let her hand fall.

"I want to appeal to him as a fellow soldier with honor. Convince him to stop spreading lies about me." The Consort had stated before she moved in close with a very affectionate hug to whisper into Jane's ear, "If you do this for me, I will be… very grateful."

Jane unintentionally shivered as she pushed the Consort gently away. The Consort gave a hurt and yet understanding smile as she allowed Jane to ask her question in a more comfortable position, for now. "And this will lead me to the evidence I need against Saren?"

The Consort gave a knowing smile in return, "Let's just say Chora's Den is more than just a strip club."

"Then I will do this favor for you," Jane acknowledge as Sha'ira returned the smile.

"Thank you, Commander, I appreciate it. Now could you please leave me, I have many clients waiting for me," Sha'ira directed Jane to the exit and Jane did not look a gift horse in the mouth as she hightailed it out of there.

Jane was down the stairs into the lobby to find a contented Wrex, a smiling Ashely Williams that was listening to the asari equivalent to Ulysses's Odyssey, which lacked in the blood department and focused more understandings one's place and unity. Jane did not care as she called for them to leave, "Wrex, Ash and Tali, it's time to go."

Wrex groaned as he got up, thanking the girl for her services as he followed the human with an equally reluctant, satisfied girls as they followed the Commander out. Wren gave a toothy smile as he asked, "So Shepard, did you enjoy the visit?"

"No," Jane stated rather quickly.

"So, you didn't get anything out of it?" Wrex asked with a knowing smile as Jane growled.

"Outside of being embarrassed, I did get something out of it, information that this Chora's Den is more than just some strip club," Jane stated as she pulled out her omni-tool, leaving a message to John and telling him her team was heading to Chora's Den.

After a quick call, Wrex could not let it go, "So you want to go now, or do you want to talk to some of the higher-class ladies for a while?"

Tali'Zorah nar Normandy actually blushed a bright reddish purple while Ashely Williams sighed in annoyance. Jane looks exhausted as she exclaimed, "I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying. For if, you are insinuating that I will punch you in the nose! I am not the type to go to someone's bed due to attraction and… and I'm not one to do so with another girl… at least usually," Jane whispered quietly to herself. "Now let's go, we don't have all day, and I had rather not spend the rest of our eight hours here arguing."

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Market Place**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

In another part of the Presidium was a clean, sterilized area that was the marketplace filled with banks, shops, and kiosks. While not as numerous as marketplaces found in the Wards, their merchandise generally that was exotic and expensive since their customers ranged from the rich to those that have organizations fronting the bill. Of course, the most expensive and reliable services available came from a bank run and owned by Barla Von.

Barla Von was a volus, a vertically challenged species with short stubby limbs and a body as round as a bowling ball. An unintimidating species with its drooping cheeks seen through high-pressure suits. Suites designed to allow them to breathe in their ammonia-based atmosphere with a simulated high-pressure environment needed to survive. They are not a species meant to fight, but that did not stop them from dominating galactic markets. Moreover, Barla Von was one of the most successful. He was dressed best as a high-class businessman in an expensive black pressure suit with green and gold stripes along his suit.

He was ensuring his customers were happy when he noticed a group of well-armed individuals made up of members of the Confederation. He knew he had to give his best presentation as he greeted his guest, "Ah, greeting Captain John Shepard."

"You know who I am?" John asked.

"Of course, one does not work in the circles I do without knowing who are the important people, whether they are politicians, generals, Counselors or members of the First Battalion. And you're one of the most famous members, with a reputation that dwarfs even your sister in some respects, despite her being the SPECTRE candidate over you," Barla Von pointed out.

"Then you must know why we are here, as an Agent of the Shadow Broker?" John asked as Barla Von blinked in exclamation before he shook his head.

"You're very blunt Captain, but you are right. I do work for the Shadow Broker, and I do have the information you want on Saren and his allies."

"What's the price for such vital information?" Legion-VII asked.

"Normally such information would cost a large sum of credits, but the Shadow Broker is feeling very… generous, so the tip is free," Barla Von stated as he pulled up the necessary information.

"The information is free? That does not comply with what this unit knows about the Shadow Broker," Legion-VII stated.

"Unless, there is something he gets out of it," Velanna suggested before Trex asked the man the question they were now thinking.

"And what is the catch for such valuable information?"

"No catch. The Shadow Broker isn't very happy with Saren at the moment, and any information that would hurt him would be a plus to him," Barla Von explained to the group. "The man you want to speak to is Fist. He's a local Crime Boss that has been dealing with Saren to supply a large number of things like weapons, tech, chemical and people, both as personal and slaves," Barla Von added, getting a twitch from the group, especially John and Velanna.

"Do you know where this Fist is?" John practically growled at the diminutive volus.

"No clue. Fist owns over a dozen different legit business that is protected thanks to an exchange of hands both legal and of questionable legality. That is not including the dozen or more warehouses or hideouts he can stay hidden in if things go south. He is not exactly stupid," Barla Von explained to the group. "However, a four-man bounty hunter squad known as Death Hand hired by the Shadow Broker was able to track him down but was arrested on the job and will not reveal his location in fear of losing their contract. Inform them that they will be paid in full if they provide the information and you should have a direct line to Fist."

"Thank you for the information," John stated before he turned around with his group, not noticing Barla Von was eye smiling.

"The pleasure was all mine, Captain John Shepard."

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Wards: Chora's Den**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

The Wards are the true heart of the Citadel for the average citizen. While the decisions and actions of the people on the Presidium and the Citadel Tower affect the galaxy as a whole, the Wards are where the average person lives, and it showed. Every inch of the place was crowded, with people from all forms of life. At least that was true for the main hallways, but there are also areas were only a few treads. Like the maintenance areas found in the back alleys of the Wards, and the entrance to an out of the way striper club called Chora's Den.

Chora's Den was a small, sleazy bar that used primarily young asari strippers to attract customers in the form of drooling men and woman. Stripers whose only protection, supposedly, is a dozen different guards including a vicious looking krogan bouncer in high-grade mercenary armor. Guards ready to push out any drunks that caused the owner any troubles. They were also there to question heavily armed personnel, such as Jane and her team.

"Hold human; what business does the Confederation have with this establishment?" asked one of the guards at the entrance.

"I am here at the request of the Consort to talk to one Septimus Oraka. I'm also looking for a human named Harkin, we have some questions for him," Jane explained for the group.

"Ah…" the krogan bodyguard nodded as he pulled up a list of clients from his omni-tool. "Well, the General is inside if you wish to talk to him. As for Harkin, he left a while ago. You can go in, as long as you don't pull out your weapons."

"Thank you, we'll be quick," Jane stated, just as she walked in while Ashely Williams looked disgusted at what was called a bar.

"A million miles away from Earth, and instead of the final frontier, there is a bar filled with a half-naked woman shaking their asses on a dancing pole," Ashely Williams stated while Wrex laughed.

"That's how you know we've entered civilization, by walking into a bar filled with strippers!"

"Please don't make such a joke, or the three of us will beat the crap out of you," Jane stated while Wrex continued to laugh and Tali'Zorah tugged onto Jane's side.

"Commander, I think that is the turian we seek," Tali pointed to a tall, brown turian sitting in a private booth, alone and not even looking at the patrons and strippers around him.

"Yep, that's our man, let's go," Jane ordered as her team followed, not realizing a perky redhead waitress and a female human reporter of Asian descent was keeping their eyes on them as Jane's Team walked toward Septimus.

The former Turian General was a drunk, but a good-looking drunk, for a turian. He had a well-kept body under a tidy uniform that was sleeker then even the servers in this bar. His orange eyes were steady as the white face paint on his flat face twitched in annoyance as the man watched another girl was treated with disrespect, at least in his mind. The long fangs on his face popped open as he sighed in exasperation. He then took the last sip of his drink when he noticed he had company.

Septimus posture stiffened as he greeted his fellow military officer and spoke with a smoother tone that hid the swirls in his voice, "Commander, well this is interesting. Please have a seat and please shut the door. I'm not one for heavy beat music."

"Or Strippers by the looks of it," Jane pointed out. "Which makes me wonder, why come here when there are other bars to go to?"

"Besides the fact this place has some of the best drinks," Septimus asked with an amused smile. "It's because I came here to forget about her." Septimus sighed as he leaned forward, "I've done a lot of horrible things in my day, and there is only one woman in this damned galaxy that helped me forget it!" Septimus practically yelled as he slumped down.

He stirred sadly into his drink when a cute redhead in skintight clothing walked in with a drink, "Here's your drink General."

"Thank you, Jenna," Septimus smiled as he accepted his drink.

Jenna returned his smile as she gave a small bow. "Would your guest like anything to drink? We have a wide selection of drinks for every species. Even batarian, quarian and krogan drinks if you like."

"None for me thanks," Jane stated as her fellow soldiers also waved Rita off while Wrex just smiled.

"I have a mug of Ryncol if you have it?" Wrex asked as he smiled at the girl.

"One mug of Ryncol coming up," Jenna jolted before she walked out of the room.

Just as Septimus took a sip of his drink before he sat it down, "Ah, that's the stuff. Now, what were we talking about?"

"Well, I was about to ask why you are spreading lies about her?" Tali asked the man quietly as she took a trip down memory lane. Remembering her military family as the turian, even drunk, made her think of her high ranking father with how repose and powerful he was.

A thought broken as Septimus yelled, "Because she rejected me, me! Septimus Oraka, General of the Turian Army!"

"That's rough," Ashely Williams stated before moving in for the kill. "But surely to take this route isn't going to fix the problem or make it better. And certainly, it's not the _honorable_ route to take," Ashley added as she spat out 'honorable.'

"Look, kid, I know what you're trying to do, but I don't need a speech or a sermon to get myself together or tell me what I did is wrong. I just… I don't know what I need. Just something to fill the hole that was my heart," Septimus sighed as he stirred his drink just as Jenna came in with a twenty-ounce glass mug of green liquid that could kill anyone but a krogan.

"One mug of Ryncol," Jenna smiled as she handed the krogan his mug. "Are you sure none of you want anything else?"

"No, but thank you," Jane stated as Wrex took a big gulp of his drink.

Jenna gave a small smile and quickly left as Ashley stared at Jenna with suspicious eyes, her eyes wondering to Wrex's mug and back to the girl while Jane moved back to her conversation with the former General.

"Well then General, it sounds like you just lost a battle in a long war we call one's life. And while it may hurt right now, you know it's not over. So, what do you say to your men to get them back so you can win a war?"

"War," Septimus roared with a bit of humor in his voice. "That's what it feels like. How did it come to this?" Septimus asked as she looked at the drink in his hand.

"I guess heartbreak is much like war," Jane stated. "But that's still doesn't answer my question, what do you tell them?"

"I tell them life is not fair, but we have a duty to protect what we care about the most. Then help them stand on their own two feet so they can walk the path of a good soldier," Septimus stated as he leaned back. "So, you think it's that easy, just stand up and walk like a soldier?"

"It certainly is less pathetic than just drinking this swill all day in some back-alley bar," Wrex grunted as he took another large gulp of his drink.

"Alright, I'll do it, once I have a cold shower or two," Septimus admitted as he remembered something. "By the way, would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Depends on the favor," Jane told Septimus, who smiled in response.

"There is an Elcor Diplomate by the named Xeltan, who believes Shira gave up his secrets."

"Why would he think such a thing?" Tali asked.

"Because I've told him," Septimus admitted. "Look, I just need you to convince him of the truth with this." The general then handed them a datapad. "Take this datapad it shows my information. It will exonerate Shira and convince the elcor."

"Thank you General," Jane stated as she uploads the information to CID, who will send agents to tell the elcor at their embassy of what really happen and that the Consort did not, in fact, betrayed him.

"Well then, here's to soldiers acting like soldiers," Septimus saluted as he took one last gulp. He smiled as Jenna made her back in.

"Oh General, I see you're done with your drink early, would you like another?" Jenna asked.

"No, I'm heading out to get my life back on track, but thank you," Septimus told the young woman with a charming smiled that broke hearts.

Jenna returned the smile as she turned to face the others, "Would you like a refill of your drink, um… Mr. Krogan? And would the others wish to make an order?"

"I like to make an order in you telling me why you're spying on us," Ashely growled as spun out of her chair to grab Jenna and point her rapid-fire, Confederation issue M-5 Phalanx pistol to the woman's side.

Jenna was scared shitless as Septimus jumped up with his own M-9 Tempest, a machine gun pistol that resembled one of Earth's Ak-47's except half its length. "What are you doing?"

"This girl was spying on us," Ashely growled as Jenna began to pale considerably. "One of my sisters worked as a cocktail waitress, so I know enough about the job and the regulation most stores have their workers abide by to know you were acting suspiciously. I saw this girl rush pass three customers after delivering our drinks instead of getting their orders or just telling them you be with them in a minute. She then activated her omni-tool and seemed to be listening in a secluded place behind the bar that only a few could see, and unfortunately, I was one of those people.

"I also notice that mug you used for Wrex's drink. It has a plastic holder underneath it while the other customers are just plain, naked glass mugs that have not even an ounce of plastic on them. If I was a betting woman, I bet that's where you planted the listening device, and you were listening in on us."

Jenna shook in fear as the others turned to Wrex, who quickly finished his drink before smashing the mug. The shattered glass gave way to the plastic holder to reveal a listening chip planed right at the bottom, concealed. Wrex picked it up to state, "Well would you look at that, one listening device. I guess you were right Lieutenant, though I think we would appreciate it if you told us your suspicions sooner Lieutenant."

"I didn't want to tip her off sir," Ashely replied as she pressed the gun closer into the scared girl's side while Jane stared at her while silently stating, 'We'll talk later.'

The others stared as Septimus lowered his gun to ask the girl, "Why Jenna? Why?"

"I wasn't my idea to plant bugs on customer drinks," Jenna quickly stated in a panic.

"Then who did?" Jane asked.

"C-Sec," Jenna slowly admitted. "I am an informant for C-Sec with two officers ready to save me if it comes to it." Jenna looked over to the two turians sitting the booth. Jane did not need her omni-tool confirming they were C-Sec officers as Ashely William pulled away from her pistol.

"Why is C-Sec spying on us?" Tali asked with a nervous tap.

"They're not spying on you specifically, more on this bar," Jenna admitted.

"Why?" Jane asked.

"The bar is not just a bar, but a front to a corrupt man named Fist. He is the current rising kingpin, and C-Sec wanted to clip his wings before he makes any more headway."

"Hence why a nice girl like you is in this joint instead of anywhere else," Wrex growled, as Septimus looked shocked he was drinking in a place owned by a criminal.

Ashely Williams was not convinced of the sincerity of the woman, "That still doesn't explain why you spied on us."

"There a rumor going around that Fist has powerful friends in the SPECTRE program, and since you were investigating Saren, they wanted me to see if he's the SPECTRE Fist befriended. Hence the bug," Jenna nervously smiled in response.

Jenna then felt relief as Jane revealed she believed her, "So Fist is the criminal that reports to Saren. Looks like the Consort stating we don't have to look far taking her question was true after all."

"Saren, as in Saren Arterius?" Septimus asked as those from the Confederation were forced to answer yes to the growling general. "That entire family has always been trouble. His father being the warmonger that started the brief war between the Human and us, and his children were worst. If they weren't such a prominent family, I would have been able to kick them out of the military when I had the chance."

"Wished you did, then we wouldn't have to deal with Saren," Ashely Williams. "At least we have a more solid lead now, and we don't have to deal with Harkin since he is not here."

"But Harkin is still here," Jenna stated with confusion. "In fact, they took him to the back room after a turian in C-Sec armor wailed on him for information."

That caused the group from the Confederation froze as they looked outside to the bartender, the bouncers, and guards that litter the room. Their eyes meet as if they knew the soldiers were onto to them. Moreover, they knew the First Battalion knew they were onto them as the soldiers moved their hands closer to their primary weapons. Both sides only need a moment notice before Cora's Den became a battlefield.

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Wards**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183 (Ten Minutes Earlier)**

Meanwhile in another part of the Wards, was a small, medical clinic not far from the beaten path, owned, and run by a single, human doctor. It was a simple clinic with its lobby and a single medical room with three bio-beds seen through a glass window from the lobby, which was currently transparent. A place that would be unremarkable compared to most clinics if it were not for two things. One was that the pale skin doctor that ran it, one Dr. Chloe Michel, was one of the best doctors found on the Citadel. Ensuring that the woman in the pink and white jumpsuit had a constant stream of customers. The second was that the forty-something woman with pale green eyes and pale bowl cut red hair was alone with four armed thugs that were threatening her.

"Please, you don't have to do this!" yelled the doctor as she backed up against the glass window as the thugs moved closer. "I won't tell anyone I saw him, I swear!"

"That's a good doc, but our boss doesn't want to take any risks," one of the two human thugs told the scared woman.

"Just be glad you're just being taken to be our organization doctor since our usual methods to ensure others being quiet…" the turian thug tailed off when he noticed the door open and a large group of two humans, an elf, a krogan, and a turian. In a flash, he took the doctor hostage as his gun was pointed at the heavily armed group.

He did not realize it was a member of the First Battalion and a CSEC Officer when he demanded answers, "Who are you?"

"Let her go," John demanded with his own pistol pointed at them.

However, the turian thug did not have a chance to comply when a second turian armed with the M-77 Paladin, appeared from the open door and opened fired. The one shot destroyed the civilian grade kinetic barrier, killing the man as the doctor ran to safety. The turian, Garrus Vakarian walked with his Phaeston assault rifle, a predator looking assault rifle with a Heavy Barrel sticking out of the center of its mechanical opening shaped like a beak.

It made the thugs back up until one felt an electrical omni-tool blade sticking out of a salarian thug as Legion-VII decloaked from behind the thug. The last two thugs did not have a chance to comprehend what happened when the glass window in front of them was destroyed as bullets from Velanna with her N7 Variant and Kaidan N7 Valkyrie. The bullets soon hit their target, as their bloody corpses hit the ground, dead. The battle was over as Garrus stood in front of the doctor while greeting his helpers.

"Perfect timing Captain, your distraction allowed me to get the bastard," Garrus smiled as he approached the group. "Though it does bring up the question why you're here?"

"We're here for the same reason you are here, Fist and his connection to Saren," John stated as he walked forward while being flank by Trex and Kaidan as Velanna and Legion-VII secured the entrance.

"And how would you know that?" Garrus asked as he stood a bit on edge.

"The same reason you did," John stated. "You and your turian friend Chellick have arrested the bounty hunter squad Death Hand and interrogated them. During your interrogation, you'd learned that they were after Fist for the Shadow Broker, and how Harkin had ties to them. Ties he used to find Fist a doctor to treat him a week ago for wounds received by a now destroyed gang. Chellick was forced to agree to tell us where you were when you told him your progress."

**Recall: Serpent Nebula/Widow/Citadel: C-Sec Headquarters**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

Deep within the offices of C-Sec passed Captain Decian Chellick, a thin turian with blue face paint around his silver scales and green eyes. Chellick received word that members of the Confederation Alliance of Worlds have gotten permission to interrogate the bounty hunters he and Garrus interrogated earlier. He waited patiently as a large group of soldiers appeared. He sighed as he faced the group with a forced smile, "Awe, Captain, how can I help you?"

"You can help us by telling us where Garrus is, and we know you know, don't insult our intelligence," John Shepard told the tired Turian.

"Honestly Captain, I don't know where he is," Chellick stated.

"But you know where the organic could have gone Chellick-Captain," Legion-VII theorized.

"I have no idea where he-" Chellick when he was interrupted by a call from the man he tried to protect.

" _Chellick, this Garrus, I'm sorry to call you, but Fist's men are going to adduct the doctor I warned you about. Please send some officers over, I don't care how, Garrus out._ "

Chellick cursed as Trex smirked at the turian. "So, you don't know where he is. Seems like bullshit to me. Do we need to talk to your supervisor about a possibly illegal investigation, or are you going to take us to Garrus and this doctor?"

Chellick sighed as he looked up; "Follow me," as he picked up his weapons and led them to the small medical clinic.

**End Recall**

He noticed the familiar turian and Garrus winced, "Sorry Chellick for getting you involved."

"At least now you owe me one," Chellick sighed as Velanna approached the good doctor.

"Are you alright Dr. Michel?" Velanna asked.

"I'm fine, thanks to you and Garrus," Dr. Michel smiled with more confidence.

"So, what happened here and why are Fist's men after you?" Kaidan asked.

"It started a week ago when I was brought to a patient's residence to treat them for a shotgun wound to the ribs. I didn't know it at the time, but the man was Fist, the local crime lord. It was only after he told me her in no uncertain terms, that if I talked, he would kill me with his friends in C-Sec that I found out who he was. I thought I would be blackmailed to treat his men, but it appears he has other plans for me that I don't think I will not like too much."

"No, you won't, but I can give you protection from the Confederation Alliance of World's Embassy if you tell us where he's hiding out," John told the woman, as she looked uncertain before she gave in.

"Fist is hiding in a local Stripper Club known as Chora's Den. Last I heard, he is still there planning something big,"

"We must go after him. If he still has ties with that traitor Saren, then he must be brought to justice before he enacts his plan!" Garrus growled.

"Commander Jane Shepard should be there already, we'll call her to give her a heads-up," John stated as he pulled up his omni-tool while Chellick followed suit.

"I'll do the same. I have two officers watching over my informant there." Chellick then made a call, a call no one was picking up. "That's odd; someone should have picked it up by now."

It was then when John made contact, "Commander, this is Captain John Shepard. Heads up, Fist is hiding in Chora's Den, and there are C-Sec agents there looking out for an informant. Rendezvous at these coordinates and we'll engage in full force."

" _A little too late for that plan!_ " yelled Jane through the communicator as the group heard gunfire and explosions in the background. " _We need help big brother. We're pinned down protecting civvies and a C-Sec informant. Some of the thugs have military grade weapons and shields, and they killed the two C-Sec Officers. Please get here as soon as you can!_ "

"We're on our way, Captain John Shepard out," John disconnected his communicator as he turned to the group. "You heard her. Jane's team is being pinned down and need assistance. Let's move out."

"Wait I'm coming with you," Garrus stated as he stepped up. "You'll need help navigating this place, and I know a shortcut to Chora's Den. Plus I'm an excellent shot as you saw and I'm even better with my sniper rifle," Garrus added as he indicated to the folded M-97 Viper on his back, a high-power sniper rifle on his back.

"Very well, but I will leave you behind if you slow us down," John stated as Garrus nodded with understanding.

He then turned to Chellick to ask, "Chellick, you coming?"

Chellick shook his head 'no,' "Someone has to call this in Garrus to get C-Sec rolling, and I am the higher rank agent, it has to be me." Chellick sighed as he looked at Garrus, "Get Jenna out of there safely. I promised I would protect her when she became my informant and I'd rather not be made into a liar."

"Don't worry, I will," Garrus stated before he turned to John, giving a firm nod before he ran out, followed closely by the members of the First Battalion as they ran to Chora's Den.

**Character Stats**

Name and Rank: Officer Garrus Vakarian

Species: turian

Class: combat soldier (tech)

Melee Weapon: molecular bladed knife

Grenades: homing grenades

Kinetic Weapons: Phaeston (heavy barrel), M-77 Paladin, & M-97 Viper (heavy barrel & thermal scope)

Ammo: armor-piercing rounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done, it did not help this chapter to add more details, so I left them out. Hope you enjoy it. Also, please to introduce Lieutenant James Reed, Leaf Ranger's OC, possibly the only other OC introduced until the Reaper War outside of Jane's mother XO. If anyone has any idea for any of the alien species, please send it via review or PM.  
> A) If this was a game instead of a story, you could choose to not engage in the hunt for Saren's allies, and then it will skip to the Citadel and get Saren arrested. Then you go after Fist but skip Harkin, and Barla Von as Garrus will meet with you after the meeting to give you the information and possibly join up. You will miss some xp and dialogue choices.


	6. The Politics of the Citadel Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age; one of the few good companies that are under EA, Bioware, owns them.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/29/2018

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Wards: Chora's Den**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

In the dark backrooms of a sleazy bar in the capital of Citadel space, a brutal firefight was happening between the elite soldiers of the First Battalion and the rabble of criminals there. A fight that under any other circumstance would have lasted only a few minutes due to the Confederation's superior skills, technology, and teamwork. However, one of every four of the rabble were equipped with military-grade armor, shields, and weapons, and had enough cover to make the fight drag on. Long enough for a human of Asian descent to pop out a VI controlled camera to report the news live, with her messy bowl cut hair and damaged dress giving her the dramatic effect of the chaos that ensued.

"This is Emily Wong of Alliance News reporting from Chora's Den here on the Citadel. A large Crime Syndicate that has used the strip club as a front has brazenly opened fire on Confederation soldiers investigating the attack on Eden Prime. Civilian casualties are mounting as these criminals have opened fire on everyone in the room, even if they were their own employees. Confederation forces have returned fire and with a few allies, established a defensive line in an effort to save as many bystanders as they can while trying to push the criminals back."

Emily reported as the camera focused in on several civilians. A few were scattered around, trying to stay undercover while a large group, which included Jenna, were protected by Tali's defense drone and the former Turian General Septimus. Who, even though he was drunk, Septimus was a better shot then most of the thugs attacking them. Nearby, Lieutenant Ashely Williams was keeping them at bay with suppressive fire, and deadly headshots with her new M-99 Saber. The heavy rifle allowed her to pull off fantastic sniper shots at high enough speeds to take down any enemy thug that attempted to get close.

Though getting closer to the entrenched soldiers was the last thing the thugs were worried about as a quarian engineer sent a drone to attack the rabble while sabotaging their military grade weapons and kinetic barriers of the elite thugs that were scattered among the common rabble. This put the powerful elite thugs into a bind as they faced a rampaging krogan that either flung them around with his biotic powers or blasted them up close with his shotgun. The gunfight had turned into a bloodbath, all of which was being recorded by Emily Wong.

Emily was a dedicated reporter as she continued to report on the fight she stumbled over a body, whose blood covered the floor. The corpse was an asari striper, who had removed her top and bra to reveal her sizeable, perky breast to her a turian client before the firefight took place. The criminal thugs had not hesitated to put three bullets into her back and five more into the client who lay next to her discarded clothing. The floor saturated by the asari's purple blood and the turian's blue blood splattered all over their clothing and seats. It was a bloody scene Emily used as an example of how little the thugs cared about how many or who they killed as they even killed their employees.

She was so engrossed in the story that she did not notice that a thug with a pistol had snuck up behind her. The thug planned to use the woman as a meat shield, and he was close enough to grab her. However, before he had a chance, a powerful telekinesis push sent him head first into a wall, killing him from blunt force trauma. Emily Wong gasped after she realized how close she was to getting killed when she turned around to her savior to gasp again, "Commander Shepard."

Since the fight began, Jane Shepard had been in the background, supporting her team with her powers and gunfire. Especially with energy blasts shaped like arrows, spikes of ice, fireballs, and balls of wind that exploded into shockwaves with enough force to shred flesh. All the while making sure Wrex did not hurt himself until she noticed the woman with a camera and one of Fist's armed employees coming up behind her and dealt with him. Jane was going to have a long talk with the non-combatant as Wrex continued the onslaught he sent a biotic charge to slam into a krogan bouncer that stood his ground.

"What the hell are you doing wandering around?" Jane demanded from the scared woman as Wrex engaged the krogan bouncer, who had electric gauntlets for close quarter combat. "You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I'm sorry Commander Jane Shepard," Emily stammered as she heard bones crack as Wrex overpowered the krogan with his biotics.

Wrex's superior age and skill in biotics helped overwhelm his opponent as Jane zeroed in on the scared reporter's words. "How do you know my name? Wait do I know you from somewhere?" Jane asked as she opened fire on two thugs that tried to take pot shots at Wrex, showing Emily that she was fully aware of the battle around her.

"I'm Emily Wong, a reporter for Alliance News," Emily said as she watched Wrex finished off the krogan with a bloody head-butt before he fell back, away from the next wave of bullets.

"I thought you looked familiar. You are one of the few reporters I actually like," Jane commented as she kept an eye on the woman and pushed her to cover. "What's a respected reporter doing out here?"

"I was looking into the corruption here in the Citadel, and it was going nowhere until you came in," Emily answered as she gave a nervous chuckle. "In fact, since I knew you were investigating the attack on one of our colonies, I hoped that if you found anything on Organized Crime here on the Citadel that you would give it to me." Emily then ducked to avoid a stray bullet when she asked, "I don't suppose you would be willing to tell my listeners what exactly happened here?"

"Not in the middle of a firefight," Jane stated as she pushed Emily Wong back. "How about this, if we survive, I'll give you access to all our unclassified data and even give an exclusive. How does that sound?"

"Looking forward to the talk," Emily enthusiastically agreed as she moved to safety, just as the cavalry arrived.

Fist's thugs did not know what hit them when a Vine Grenade landed at the feet of the two thugs at the entrance, holding them in place while two well-placed gunshots killed them. Soon after, John, Velanna, Legion-VII, Trex and a turian unknown to Jane rushed in with guns blazing, along with explosives, and both mage and biotic-based powers. In an instant, the thugs lost all their cover, and they were caught between two well-trained units of soldiers. It was over with one final explosion from Trex's M-37 Falcon.

With the field cleared, the group made the all-clear sign, as the turian, Garrus, looked at the two bloody bodies on the ground, shot up by civilian and military grade weapons. He recognized the two officers as he made a call to his superiors about the firefight at Chora's Den with multiple civilian casualties and two officers down. All the while Jane and John's team conferred as the civilians slowly came out of hiding.

"Thanks for the save brother," Jane smiled as her brother rolled his eyes.

"It's no problem Commander, but this is becoming a habit I hope we break for there will be a time when I can't be there to save you from your own mistakes."

"Hey, my team and I could have handled it on our own eventually. In fact, we could have taken them out before you came if we had pushed harder than we did, but it would have gotten more civilians killed if we had," Jane explained as John frowned.

"Maybe you should have pushed harder," John stated as Jane glared at her older brother while the veterans of the team rolled their eyes at the same old argument while the newer team members either agreed or gasped in shock.

"This is the not the time for our common song and dance brother, especially with reporters around," Jane stated as she looked at Emily Wong, who was busy reporting the aftermath and did not hear John's comment, thanks to Confederation PR.

John became silent, as he did not need a lecture from Command about speaking his mind in public. Therefore, he was relieved when Garrus appeared to give a report that inveterately switched subjects, "Captain, Commander. I've contacted C-SEC, and they'll be here in ten minutes to secure the scene and civilians. That will give us enough time to talk to Fist."

"Good work officer," John told the officer as Jane's team took notice of the turian.

Jane then looked at her brother with a thousand-watt stare, "So Captain, my Captain, will you introduce us to your friend?"

John rolled his eyes as he pointed to Garrus, "This is Detective Garrus Vakarian that we've all heard about, and he has agreed to help us since he wants to see justice served, even if it means going against his superiors."

"And you're sure he is not just spying on us for C-Sec?" Ashely Williams asked with a raised eyebrow. "The turians are known to be loyal on a physiological level to the state and their fellow turians."

"Would it help if I swear that I am doing this on my own for my people? As Saren is a traitor and a disgrace to all turians! He's a crazy varren who needs to be put down!" Garrus exclaimed in a straight tone so serious that it made Wrex laugh.

"A turian with a sense of true honor and humor, we don't see that every day," Wrex chuckled as he developed a smirk as the turian frowned. He then shrugged as he exclaimed, "Well regardless, I don't think he's lying. Turians are terrible liars and can only lie by not saying anything. I see no reason why we can't trust him to help us, provided he is useful instead of a waste of space."

"And I can be useful, krogan," Garrus growled as he activated his visor. "I can pull up the schematics of the station and ships, both military and civilian class, that are here on the Citadel. It's a great way for me to find someone is trying to hide something from me."

"Can it also tell us what we'll be facing?" Tali'Zorah nervously asked Garrus, who responded with a chuckle as his eyes lingered a bit on the quarian.

"I can tell you what they tell us during inspections. Outside of this bar is a warehouse, followed by a private room Fist is using as his office. And if I remember correctly, the latter is a panic room with no means of escape."

"Are you sure?" Kaidan asked.

"You would need a high-powered mining laser running for several hours to cut a hole out of that room. The Protheans did not skip when it came to building this place," Garrus explained.

"Okay, we've got a plan, now it's time to get to it. Let us go," Jane ordered.

Garrus nodded before turning to the civilians grouped together, "Hello, my name is Officer Garrus Vakarian. C-Sec is on their way, and I have your photographs. If you are not here when they arrive, C-Sec will assume you have ties with Fist and most likely will track you down and arrest you. So, don't run unless you want your whole life opened to C-Sec when they come after you."

The civilians grumbled as Garrus directed the team to follow him, leaving the civilians to wait for C-Sec. As the non-combatants waited, the heavily armed group approached a door with a simple lock at the end of the bar. It did not take an ounce of Garrus skill to unlock it with a wave of his omni-tool. Using stander issued lockpicking and hacking software used by tech soldiers trained in electronic warfare. Something the dockworkers at the other end of the door would not wish to face with one or two civilian type guns and whatever they could get their hands on, mainly harden-plastic boards and pipes.

They were brave fools standing their ground with such armament, "Stop right there, don't come any closer."

"What the hell is this?" Ashely asked aloud.

"Warehouse workers, all the rest of Fist's men must be dead," as Garrus answered for Lieutenant Williams and she nodded in acceptance while the dockworkers nervously held their ground.

"Stay back, or we'll defend ourselves," another threatened as Jane took the time to become the team's diplomat.

"You know, you don't have to do this and lay down your lives for what I am assuming is a horrible boss like Fist. You could just let us pass. After all our business is with him, not you."

"Or you can stay in our way, and we will kill you in less time than it takes to pull the trigger, twice. What's it going to be," John added, making sure the uncertain men picked the right path.

They dropped their weapons as the leader agreed, "Yeah, yeah you're right."

The warehouse workers then dispersed, but not before one last man commented, "I didn't like Fist anyway."

"Shepard-Captain, Shepard-Commander, while your strategy may not have been time efficient, it was effective none the less," Legion-VII praised the Shepards.

"Glad to meet your approval," John grumbled as Jane looked around the room.

"Keep your eyes open, we don't know if Fist left traps in the warehouse or not," Jane ordered as the team spread out, far enough to expand the group's sight but close enough to respond in an instant if one of the team got in trouble.

Alternatively, when one of them made a discovery just as Tali did, "Shepards, I've found something."

The group rushed over to find a balding human on the ground with his hands shackled behind his back. He was a filthy man whose grey combat clothing was covered in grime and grease, while his face was covered in bruises. Though not enough to stop Garrus from recognizing him, "It's Harkin."

"Confirmed, that is Harkin-unit, former liaison to C-Sec and CNIS," Legion-VII reported as Harkin, with a face only a mother could love, finally woke up to a blurry world.

It took a few seconds before his eyes bloodshot from heavy drinking cleared enough to see the large group in front of him. He made long glances at Jane, Velanna, Ashely, and Tali as his face formed a sly smile and spoke in a slurred tone, "Hey babes, you come here often."

Tali and Velanna felt very self-conscious of their bodies while Ashely snarled, "Pig," as Jane counted to ten while Garrus figurative slapped him, "You're on the ground at the mercy of others, and the first thing you do is act like a jackass to the people that saved you. You really are at the bottom of all pits, Harkin."

"Garrus," Harkin growled as he glared at the turian. "This is all your fault! If you hadn't roughed me up during your interrogation, Fist wouldn't have thought I gave you valuable information and tried to beat me to a pulp!"

"And whose fault was that you had anything to do with Fist?" Garrus asked rhetorically.

"Hey, it's not my fault the Confederation, and the Citadel doesn't pay me enough for the long hours they put me through. I needed my fix in booze and some lovely company, and they were not willing to help me. In fact, they performed a witch hunt on me!" Harkin yelled as others looked slack-jawed.

"Really, they went after you like it was a witch hunt?" Trex asked with a twitch as Harkin elaborated.

"Skim a few crew credits off a case, a note was put in my file. Sell a few trinkets that C-Sec and the Confederation would have sold anyway, another note put in my file. Sell some non-vital information for a few easy credits, another note put in my file. Being late with some paperwork, another note put in my file. Losing some transfer papers, another note put in my goddamn file. It was a goddamn witch hunt!" Harkin exclaimed as the team rolled their eyes.

"I think you got what you deserved, you ass," Ashely Williams added as she looked down at the man who grumbled in response.

"Hey, don't you look down on me. You soldiers have it easy. If you shot someone and take their stuff, everyone claps their hands and looks the other way. While I would be forced to fill-out so much paper I could have drowned in it." Harkin sighed as he stated, "I should have been a soldier."

"Well I am glad you aren't one for I doubt you would make it past boot camp with an attitude like that," Kaidan pointed out, much to Harkin's displeasure.

"Oh, stuff it, this isn't a confession, and you're not my priest," Harkin growled as Jane lost her patience.

"Okay enough of this. Do you know for sure if Fist is still here or not?" Jane asked the man.

"Yeah, he's still here, waiting in his panic room for you. I suggest you get to it unless you don't want to see his surprise," Harkin laughed as John sighed before he turned to the others.

"Okay, we know Fist is here, and we're ready to deal with him. But before that, we have to decide on what we are going to about Harkin!"

"I say we leave him tied up," Trex said with a shrug. "It's what, as you human's say, he deserves for being an A-grade asshole."

Wrex laughed as he put his hands on Trex, "I agree with the kid, let the man stew in his misery."

"But wouldn't that make him our responsibility since he would be our prisoner after we killed Fist," Velanna pointed out with her soft tone, forcing the others to reconsider their decision.

"Yeah, I don't want to be responsible for him sir. Let him go, and he'll be C-Sec and CNIS's problem again," Ashely pointed.

"Oh, thank you so much for that," Garrus grumbled as he rolled his eyes.

John did not need any more convincing as he cut Harkin lose with his omni-blade. Harkin then got up and muttered about getting a drink. Kaidan just shook his head as he stated, "That man is going to die with a bottle in his hand."

"Only if we're lucky," Garrus added as Jane looked at the others.

"Okay, that's enough. I see the door up ahead. Let's deal with Fist, get the evidence we need, and be done," Jane suggested, and the others complied, moving toward the door.

Within seconds, Legion and Garrus approached the control panel to bypass the doors. John looked over to Tali, "Ensign, see if you can get us some eyes in the room to see what Fist is doing."

"On it, Captain," Tali saluted as she came upon a console and began to hack into the system.

The room Fist locked himself in was a fortified bunker of the highest quality. A strong composite, polymer alloy so thick it would take hours to cut through. Assuming they had tools designed to burn through the door protecting the room. To make things worse, it was a sealed room. With its own power generator and a smaller scale life-support system found on most long-range starships. That meant with enough supplies, anyone in such a secured room could live there for the rest of their lives. Luckily, there was some vulnerability in its safety systems.

Due to the fact the room was sealed, its sensors were dedicated to monitoring heat, toxic chemical and atmospheric levels, power from life-support, life signs and so on. Therefore, if the majority of the room were on fire or picked up no life signs, the system would assume the person was in danger or dead and the door would open automatically. A weakness Tali and the others exploited as she quickly gained control of the sensors to find Fist's location in the room. She also found schematics of the room as well as cameras Fist used to record meetings with his business partners should they betray him or try to walk away.

So Tali had a bird's eye view, and what she saw caused her to squeak, invoking Jane to ask, "Tali, what is it?"

"Looks like Fist has taken his security to a new level and he has two military-grade dense turrets ready to blast anyone that tries to enter," Tali reported as she showed the team the images from her omni-tool.

She showed them a large brutish man with a military crew cut was making finale design modifications on two large turrets in the room. Ashely whistled as she remarked, "They look like older models then the ones we used on Eden Prime. They are standard machine gun turrets that fire in a continuous stream of bullets against infantry units and most animals. I bet the two of them together can take down a Geth Prime within thirty seconds."

"We'll need to take those out quickly. Otherwise, they could be a problem," John stated.

Trex then pulled up a grenade launcher and exclaimed, "I can fire grenades at Mister Wanda-Be-Gangster and the turrets. That would take care of the problem."

"And could accidentally destroy everything else in the room, making all this pointless, Lieutenant," John pointed out. "No, we need finesse, and I have the perfect idea. Officer Garrus, when you get the door open, you and Ensign Tali sabotage the turrets with your omni-tools, preventing them from firing while Lieutenant Kaidan and I will use the overload ability on them, causing them to explode. From there, Lieutenant Legion-VII will help Lieutenant Commander O'Connell and Commander Shepard to capture Fist. The rest will act as a backup in case the plan fails."

The others nodded in understanding as Garrus and Legion-VII rewrote the environmental computer code, causing the sensors to read the entire room was on fire and open the door. From there, they followed John's plan to the exact detail. Tali and Garrus rushed in as Fist activated the turrets and disabled them with a sabotage function from their omni-tools virus programs. Kaidan and John then overloaded them, causing them to explode with Fist caught in the middle.

His shields were drained entirely in an instant, and he was temporarily blinded by the blast. The crime boss was unable to see his weapons taken away by Legion-VII or the hex that formed under his feet until it was too late. He realized it was over when he fell down screaming in pain as an ice shard broke through his armor and embedded itself deep into his leg. Fist could not surrender fast enough as he laid bleeding on the ground.

Defeated, the crime boss was picked up and forcibly pushed into his couch by the krogans while Tali went to Fist's computer to get the information they wanted. Fist looked at the quarian with a quivering heart until John and Jane forced him to look right into their eyes. He raised his hands in fear as he stuttered, "W-w-wh-who a-are you? W-w-what do you want?"

"Who we are doesn't matter, for either you'll be in jail or dead," John told the scared crime boss. "What we want is very simple. All your dealings with a certain rogue SPECTRE named Saren?"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Fist tried to lie before he screamed out in pain as Wrex squeezed his shoulder.

"Please don't lie to us. My brother and my two large friends behind you are not in the mood of you trying to cover your ass. Your guilt is obvious, and C-Sec is going to take you away for life in prison, assuming you don't piss my friends off enough to just kill you. So please no more grandstanding and tell us the truth," Jane pleaded with a tone that made Fist think she would not care if he died.

A tone that convinced him to tell her the truth, "Okay, I admit it. I had dealings with Saren. It was just strictly business. He knew I could get him things on the Citadel that the SPECTRE's would not be authorized to get without some scrutiny. So, I sold him the things he needed, and that's the majority of my business with him."

"You said the majority of your business. What was the rest of your business with him like?" Jane asked as she pulled out her M-77 Paladin Pistol, examining it as if to decide whether she wanted to use it on Fist or not.

The scared man tried to backtrack his words with a carefully worded lie that would be believable enough not to kill him since he feared the truth would, "It was a slip of the tongue, I meant that was all the business I did for him."

Sadly, for Fist, no one believed him as the crime lord screamed again when Wrex squeezed his shoulder as he growled, "Don't lie to us!"

"I-I-I," Fist stammered as John frowned.

"You're hiding something. What is it?" John asked in a tone that would make a wraith quiver in fear.

Fist was shaking in his armor when Tali called them out, "I think I know sir." Gaining their attention as Tali was getting long-range communication network Fist set up to play a message he made a day ago. "I was able to break the encryption he had for computer and was downloading all of his corresponding message he been having with others when I found something you may want to see."

Then with a few taps on her omni-tool, two dual screens appeared. One was Fist while the other was an asari within the matriarch stage, the end stage of the asari. She also very distinct, even among asari, with her light blue skin starting to darken with her outlook in the universe. She even dressed for the occasion with her black dress, black crown on top of her and black lips that formed into a frown on her beautiful face. She was not a very pleased woman as her blue eyes stared into a very nervous Fist.

The real Fist paled as the one on the recording bowed to the woman, " _My lady, it's good to see you again. How may I serve Saren today?_ "

" _Simple, Saren wishes for these people to disappear_ ," the asari stated as a list of targets appeared before Fist. Fist read the list as the asari continued to speak. " _Most are inconsequential as they were just test subjects for Saren's military projects. However, the two at the very top is a priority for they hold valuable information that Saren cannot allow the Council to know_."

In the recording Fist scrolled up the list until he reached the top two targets, Captain John Shepard and at the very top was Commander Jane Sheppard. Fist looked at the asari as though she was insane, " _Are you mad! The last thing I need is to get the Confederation involved. I have a hard enough time keeping ahead of C-Sec! I don't need the military of the Citadel and the Confederation after me due to killing two high ranking officers in the Confederation Navy._ "

The asari for her own part remained calm and collected as Fist ranted at her. She then tilted her head and gave a small smile as she spoke in a regal tone to convey her threat, _"Have you ever faced Asari Commandoes before. Few humans had and lived to tell the tale,_ " the asari admitted as Fist shivered in fear before she gave Fist her ultimatum. " _I'll make this simple, either you hire someone to kill them, or I will have my Asari Commandoes do it and kill you as well for becoming a loose end. Do we understand each other?_ "

" _Perfectly my lady_ ," Fist gulped in real life and in the recording as John and Jane turned to the man with disdain.

" _I look forward to hearing your success. May the Goddess embrace you_ ," the asari bowed before transmission was cut, leaving Tali to continue her report.

"Fist made contact with someone called the Black Kahunas for the mission to kill you, ma'am, sir."

"The Black Kahunas!" Wrex exclaimed as he let out a sharp whistle. "That's a group I do not want to tangle with again."

John, Jane, and Trex scolded at the group's name as Kaidan looked up to ask, "Who are the Black Kahunas?"

Trex sighed as he explained to the group, "The Black Kahunas are a group of elcor mercenary bands that were mostly seen in the Attican Traverse. They are known to use heavy explosives to kill their targets and do not care about collateral damage. They are not to be trifled with."

"Wait, you're talking about the same elcor that explain what they are feeling due to the fact most species cannot converse through their subtle movement conversation. As well as being as slow as a sloth," Ashely asked as Wrex chuckled in response.

"Don't let the elcor fool you. They may not be the fastest species, but they are the strongest thanks to their homeworld being a high gravity world so strong that it could kill them if they fell over. They could crush a krogan if they wanted to, and they have a hide thick enough that most standard caliber guns can't penetrate without putting a dozen rounds in them at least," Wrex laughed as Ashely's eyes widen in shock. "Combined with heavy armor, shields and a VI controlled rocket launcher and machine gun turret, the Elcor military and mercenary bands like the Black Kahunas are a force to be reckoned with," Wrex added as John approached the shaking crime boss, who felt like death had come for him.

With a speed that seemed faster than a biotic charge, John quickly grabbed Fist and brought him to his face, "Where did you send your hit squad!?"

"To Market District on these Wards," Fist stammered out in fear. "I was told that the witnesses that Saren wanted dead are there. I've just gotten the confirmation, and they are moving to attack them, if you hurry, you can save them."

John threw Fist down on the ground as the team tried to contact the witness's guards. John looked at Fist, his hand on his gun, ready to kill. He barely heard they could not reach the guards protecting their witness when he pulled out his rapid-fire, N7 Eagle pistol as Fist cowered. He was about to execute him when Jane stopped him.

"No brother!" Jane yelled as she held her brother's arm firmly within her grasp.

"What are you doing?" John asked in frustration as he glared at his sister for answers.

"I'm stopping you from performing another renegade act that would get you investigated by the CNIS, again. We don't need to kill an unarmed prisoner."

John growled as Jane allowed him to lower his arm to place his gun back on his hip, "So what do you suggest we do? Let him go?"

"Please brother, I am not stupid enough to let a notorious criminal go as a show of mercy when we have someone here that can arrest him," Jane grumbled as she turned to the only turian in the room.

Her face formed into an infectious smile as she moved in close to nervously smiling officer, "Garrus, buddy ol' pal. Do you have some nice cuffs to give to our friend on the ground? I am sure C-Sec would love to get their hands-on Fist here to learn every naughty thing he has done and of course, who he did it with."

Fist turned paler than an albino, as he looked up to a smiling Garrus as he held out some electronic cuffs, "Sure, whatever you ask."

Garrus worked like a flash as he cuffed Fist's arms behind his privately owned pole-dancing pole as Tali downloaded the last bit of information for the Confederation forces, CNIS and for the reporter Jane promised to give. With the prisoner secured for C-Sec and the data in hand, John ordered the team to move out. He hoped they would arrive at the Ward's Market District in time.

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Wards: Market District**

**Human Date: February 5, 2183**

Walking through the crowded hallways was a cybernetic, insectoid creature that everyone stepped out of the way, giving it a needed wide birth created by its four long legs. A wide birth created not out of fear, but respect as the living green machine paid no heed to the people around it as it moved with a purpose. Its purpose a small console activated by the green insect as its four arms with four long fingers on each arm typed away as data moved across the screen. Its big black eyes on its large head swayed on its long neck as it read the popped-up hologram screen with a dedicated focus that made it oblivious to the world. So much so it did not notice or care as two figures stared at its cybernetic backpack with a large antenna on its back as they slowly talked to each other.

"So that is a keeper the codex that these omni-tools talked about," Sten stated as he looked at the keeper with great interest.

"Yeah," Sarah nodded as she looked thoughtfully. "Surprised we haven't seen one sooner, the Citadel is practically crawling with them." Sarah then shrugged, "Of course, the Citadel is the only place you find them as they are born and bred to maintain this place until they die and degrade. They are an amazing work of engineering that was made before the asari, the oldest existing species, even knew how to write."

"Impressive, they are truly what all qunari strive to be," Sten stated before he walked off towards the rail.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked as she followed Sten.

"The qunari believe that we only have one life, one purpose. In which we are assigned by Tamassrans, the priests of our society," Sten explained to Sarah. "They determine what we are best at through genealogy, tests, and examination, and they train us at a young age to be the best in our role within the Qun."

Sarah whistled in understanding, "That's very different from my childhood… Um, when I was a little girl… my adolescent years," Sarah added when she noticed that Sten did not understand.

"Of course, it would be different. You were raised by humans after all." Sten stated as a matter fact before he turned to Sarah to ask, "What were your 'adolescent' years like? I am curious what it's like being raised by humans."

"It's difficult to explain," Sarah admitted. "The people who adopted me and raised me, my parents, were loving people that took great care of me and supported me. Even when I went into the military, which they had strong opinions about, I still talk to them whenever I get the chance."

Sarah smiled fondly at the memories before she remembered not so good times as they walked to the edge overlooking the market district. "But other times, it was difficult. The colony I grew up on wasn't the most diverse, and I stood out like a cat in a room filled with dogs. A few of the children loved to remind me how different I was and often mocked me for my horns."

A painful memory that still torments her to this day, which is why Sarah took a brief pause then looked down. It calmed her down seeing Adam acting as chaperone for Leliana, Merrill, and Varric as they got a crash course on their omni-tools. It was a welcome distraction, but one that did not last as Sten waited for her to continue to speak, as she reluctantly continued, "Though the school was worst, during my first and only year, I was struggling not to fail every class because I couldn't focus on multiple subjects."

"Multiple subjects?" Sten asked with a raised eyebrow before Sarah explained schools to Sten.

"Most humans often learn best with multiple subjects spread throughout a year as it helps them retain what they have learned and their schools are set up for such learning. Therefore, in the first year of school, I was learning math, science, literacy, history, physical education and had an art class, which in my case was painting. I could barely focus on two of them, and it hurt my grades in the process."

"Why do they emphasize so many subjects?" Sten asked.

"Humans believe in an individual's freedom and as history shows that those who are educated are more likely to find their niche in life without being forced down it. As well as to see the signs of an abuse of power to avoid losing their freedom from the people in charge or attempting to be in one's life," Sarah explained before she got back on subject. "Knowing that didn't help me much as I still struggled until my parents took me to a psychiatrist, who realized my problem, that I could not learn more than two subjects at a time despite having a better memory than most humans. Therefore, I was homeschooled until I went to the Confederation military academy, which was prepared to educate every species in the Confederation. I then graduated from the academy and was recruited by the First Battalion due to my communication skills and ability to focus past any interference. And as they say, the rest is history."

Sarah then shrugged her shoulders as she stated, "I may not live a focused life, but I live a good one that prepared me to be what I am today and find a purpose that I love."

"Then I'm glad you found your purpose in life," Sten smiled in a way that made Sarah feel special as she returned that smile.

"Could you tell me more about my people?" Sarah asked, and Sten agreed as Adam continued to give a tour to Leliana, Varric, and Merrill.

That was until Leliana and Varric saw a unique item in a hunter's shop run by a hanar, a pinkish blue jellyfish-like creature who unlike earth jellyfish, had a slug body with two humps near the head instead of antennas. It was a creature that one would not normally associate with hunting, as they needed contra-gravitic levitation packs to hold their body up in non-aquatic environments. However, they are generally a very polite species perfect for sales job as it greeted them with a warm, synthetic voice.

"Greetings customers and welcome to Rodam Expeditions, where this one's owner offers many different types of weapons, and traveling packages for the customer to explore. Is there a particular item or package of interest the customer wishes to see or hear more about?"

"Yes, I am very curious about the bow and arrows you have on the wall," Leliana pointed to the compound bow on the wall.

The hanar turned to look at the bow before it turned to Leliana, "This one sees you have an eye for quality. The bow you see is an MB-5 Compound Bow, made for hunters who want to hunt like their ancestors."

"Like who?" Varric asked the hanar out of curiosity who looked back confused. "I mean who would want to hunt like their ancestors when they have weapons that make it so much easier to kill and less risky to one's life."

"Well at first it was mainly sold to turians and humans who still live within tribes that hunt for food or for ceremonial reasons. However, as of late, many hunters have used them as a challenge, and this one's employers were more than willing to help them experience the hunt that many claimed to be very exciting."

"I noticed it's not your standard bow, is it?" Leliana asked.

"No, it isn't your standard bow for that would be too dangerous for this one to sell," the hanar admitted. "Many different animals have skin so thick that it would take a high caliber civilian or military grade weapon to penetrate it. Even an old enough pyjak and varren would take a high-power weapon to kill them in one shot. Which is why the MB-5 Compound Bow is made of a material that is nearly indestructible, as well as an added mass effect wheeled generators and accelerator at the base to makes it a weapon comparable to a sniper rifle."

Leliana had stars in her eye as Adams looked on in interest, "If I could take it apart, I could possibly figure out how to modify some other weapons to be used with it we have collected since we picked you guys up."

"This one is pleased that you appreciate the MB-5 Compound Bow design, but this one is forced to remind you that you cannot manufacture weapons similar to the compound bow unless you purchase a Rodam Expeditions' License," the hanar reminded Adams. "Only after you purchased the license and weapon schematics, may you manufacture the weapon, but you can also buy additional upgrades for the weapon."

"How much for the license and weapon?" Adam asked the hanar, not noticing that Merrill had wondered to a nearby shop belonging to the Sirta Foundation, a medical store that also sells all kinds of genetic, biotic and mage implants.

The hanar was about to comment on the price when they heard a loud rumbling outside. They turned to see four large elcor had made themselves known. The elcor are giant creatures that resembled short, big-mouthed earth elephants, minus the trunks and tusk while having hands where its front feet would be in a pachyderm. Their big hands (feet) were balled as they stroll slowly on all four. Standing taller than a krogan, the elcor can be intimidating if they wanted to be and these elcors were no exception. Especially since they wore heavy armor, and they had VI controlled machineguns and rocket launchers on their backs. Everyone nervously looked at them as the elcor made clear their intention.

"With a threatening tone: we are the Black Kahunas, and we have come to kill you all!" one of the elcor said before they opened fire.

Adam's group quickly ducked with most of the locals just before the explosions happened. Others were not so lucky as their flaming bodies, as well as glass and plastic spread across the floor. Only the Citadel's wall and its bulletproof glass held as people desperately used them as cover. It was that moment that the four Confederation troops shadowing the locals from Thedas appeared and opened fire.

This drew the elcor's attention as they returned fired on the unfortunate soldiers from the Confederation. While the soldiers were well trained compared to most soldiers across the galaxy, they were still security officers from the _CSS Normandy_ and were considered to be above average soldiers instead of elite troops the First Battalion frequently used in battle. Therefore, the krogan, two humans, and geth shock trooper were overwhelmed as they worked to take down an elcor by concentrating their shots on one of them.

They were able to kill one Black Kahuna before the elcor blew the last soldier, a krogan, into burning chunks of flesh. The elcor chuckled slowly before they turned to Adam and his group's location as they opened fire. People panicked and died as several returned fire with weapons they carried or acquired from shops. It was chaos, Sarah and Sten realized from their hiding spots, the others were not going to survive as Leliana and Varric could not get a shot in with their acquired M-6 Carnifex while Adam was forced in a crouch position with his M-5 Phalanx. Therefore, he got out his sword and snuck towards the Black Kahunas, as Sarah yelled at him to come back.

"Idiot!" Sarah exclaimed as she pulled out her M-5 Phalanx and tried to stop him but was stopped by a massive explosion below her.

An explosion caused by half a dozen rockets aimed at a wall Merrill hid behind before it went up in smoke. The elf had tried to help her friends in any way she could by using hexes and lightning spells, and she made some progress. Just not enough to make a difference compared to an implanted mage. However, it was enough to get her noticed as the elcor opened fire on the wall she used as cover.

Luckily, she saw the danger and ran far enough away that instead of killing her, the explosion sent the elf deeper into the shop while chunks of metal hit some sensitive equipment. One read, ' _Warning: Containment Failure_ ' as Merrill slowly rose up. It was when she was on her feet that she noticed that time seemed to have stopped.

Nothing moved, not the elcor trying to kill everyone, not her friends fighting for their lives. Confused, she asked aloud, "What is this? Am I dead?"

"No child, it's just the powers of a demon that causing time to slow down for you," answered a bored voice that all of a sudden appeared in front of Merrill. It was an elf so bland he might as well be some background human if he had not spoken with power and laziness, "A demon known as me."

Merrill backed up in fear toward a crate filled with implants already put in injections as she shook in fear, "You're a sloth demon, aren't you?"

"Correct," the demon said in a drawl. "Do not worry; it would be too much effort to possess you."

"What?" Merrill asked in shock as the demon elaborated.

"If I do take you, others will hunt me down and kill me. Which means a life of fighting to control your body, and that would be too much of an effort to keep up. Especially as there are other options to consider."

"What other options?" Merrill asked.

"Your friends and yourself are in trouble and need a more powerful mage to save them, and I can help you," the sloth demon stated as it pointed to a crate behind Merrill with a tired expression. "Behind you are implants that if injected into the back of the neck will allow a mortal to live the life of a magician. If you agree to inject yourself with it, I will live in you as partners and give you the power you need to survive."

Merrill, suspicious of the demon, asked for more answers, "That's all sounds fine. But what do you get out of it if you don't mind me asking?"

"I get to experience what it's like to be mortal without having to do anything," the demon admitted with a yawn. "I get to lay around in your mind and do nothing outside of the occasional talk or when you need help. Why wouldn't I agree to such a deal?"

Merrill was still skeptical until the imminent danger seemed to catch-up with her. She was afraid as she watched the elcor turn towards her friends, bringing their rocket launchers to bear. She did not need any more prompting as she quickly took a vial and injected herself as she yelled, "Okay, I accept."

"Very well, now let Fargo take care of the rest so I can sleep," Fargo stated as he fused with Merrill in a blinding light, the first sign that tables turned against the Black Kahunas.

They wasted no time, as a dozen roots busted through metal and pulled the elcor down, squeezing their shields, weapons, and elcor themselves to death. The locals, not caring how it happened, took the chance to run for it or take their revenge using makeshift weapons found from debris on the floor or using the weapons they had on them. Only Leliana, Varric and Adam noticed the hexes used to help weaken the elcor shields when Merrill appeared with a giant grin on her face.

"Hello," Merrill waved in excitement as she spoke like a hyperactive child on candy. "Did you see how I knocked down those elcors? I mean I wasn't expecting that, but there are a lot of plants under there. Don't know why it felt like a mini-forest. Can we go visit one when we're done here? I like to go see it. I bet it would be nice. What do you think um… why are you all staring at me like that?"

"Merrill, what in Maker's name happened to you?" Leliana asked with wide eyes.

"Oh, it was amazing. I thought I was killed when time seemed to stop after that explosion near me," Merrill explained faster than a hamster on a wheel. "Turns out it was a demon named Fargo who wanted to make a deal. I didn't trust it at first, but it pointed out the mage implants behind me, and I injected myself in the back of the neck. We fused, and I was able to save everyone, and he gave me a boost before he went to take a nap in my head." Merrill explained as a panicked Adam examined the implant with his omni-tool.

Adam's sigh of relief was Leliana and Varric's relief, "The implant is stable, but it could use some modification and a military upgrade. Doctor Chakwas should be able to perform the surgery needed once we get back to the _Normandy_."

"Okay, that sounds good," Merrill added before she yawned.

"Daisy, do you feel alright?" Varric asked the young elf who was lowering herself to the ground.

"I feel tired all of a sudden," Merrill admitted as Adam shook his head.

"I had a feeling this would happen," Adam had stated as he sighed. "I am no medical expert, but I read about these implants, and I think Merrill is becoming fatigued." Adam sighed as he stated, "If Merrill were implanted when she was a child, she would adapt quicker as her synapses were developing. As it is, she'll be feeling fatigued for days, possibly weeks. I am amazed you are still awake, really."

"I may have borrowed energy from someone else to be as active as I have been," Merrill yawned. "And now I'm sleepy and losing control of the roots holding the Kahunas."

"What!?" Leliana asked as she rose up to see the Black Kahunas were starting to break free.

In fact, the leader of the group had already broken enough vines to be able to grab one of the civilians, a salarian and squeeze him to the point his whole body crackled and popped within the elcor's one hand. Effectively putting real fear in the rest of the civilians that were now running. Leliana realized she had little time left before the elcor started to fire on them again when she grabbed the MB-5 Compound Bow and its arrows before she ran out, took aim, and fired. She watched it soar as it went through the air before it broke the elcor's weaken shields and continued through its armor. She watched as is it went through one of the elcor's eyes sockets and went deep into his brain. She had killed the lead elcor, and the other two were pissed. She saw they had freed themselves and ran for cover from the machine guns, just as Sten made his appearance.

Before Leliana killed the lead Elcor, Sten had moved in silence to be directly above the elcor for a sneak attack with his sword. Silently and with precession, he worked to be above the trapped elcors. He waited until after Leliana's kill to make his move. With a giant leap, Sten used both his strength and gravity to strike with a slash. The effect was evident as the elcor he targeted turned out to be the only female elcor, at least they assumed due to her scream of pain as Sten broke through her weaken shields, and cut into her armor.

Unfortunately, Sten did not kill the elcor, as she grabbed the qunari and slammed him into the ground, breaking several of his bones and temporarily paralyzed him. Not that Sten noticed at first as he screamed out in pain as the elcor raised her front legs. The elcor was about to give the killing blow when a biotic push sent her tumbling into a wall. Sten could not believe his luck as he turned to see John Shepard, Kaidan and Wrex had come to his rescue as the female elcor shook off their attack.

Angered by the newcomer's interference, the Black Kahuna got on all fours and took aim at the three biotics with her rocket launchers. She then pulled the trigger, expecting to blast them when she heard a loud winning sound. She did not have the chance to see the quarian had sabotaged her weapons when they exploded on her back, taking half of her back with it when she fell to the ground dead, leaving only one elcor remaining. An elcor who knew he was finished when spells like leach and hexes from Velanna, coupled with shots from Garrus and Ashely Williams's sniper rifles, took down his shield quicker than he could comprehend.

He knew it was the end, but he planned to go down fighting, preparing to open fire on the new arrivals when he got a fireball to the face. He howled out in pain as he felt a second spell hit him, one that started to make him feel bloated by a spiritual death spell. He did not know why the second spell was cast on him until he looked up to see Jane Shepard swiped across his neck with her sword. Blood poured out of him quickly as he fell to his knees, in pain and shock as he fell to his stomach.

He looked at the Commander to say in a garbled voice, "With a disappointed and angered filled curse: Damn!" before he lay down due to blood loss. The elcor bled to death before Jane ran to help Sten.

Sten stunned to see such a creature fall at the hands of the woman before his eyes filled with respect as he nodded to the woman as best, he could, "Thank you for saving me, Commander."

"Glad I could help, just wished we had come sooner to help you," Jane told Sten as the qunari looked into the human eye as she injected through her omni-tool, the miracle gel known as medi-gel. A human invention that sealed his wounds and temporarily patched the bones that were broken so he somewhat could move.

"I will heal in time, and when I do, I will help you in your mission to stop Saren. This I swear," Sten promised while Varric, Leliana and a tired Merrill came to the scene.

"So, will the three of us," Varric stated with a smile. "We're not about to leave you hanging and maybe payback whoever tried to kill us. So here we are if you allow us to join."

"Well you are skilled and could be an asset even if you are a bit primitive and will be held back," Jane noted as Merrill yawned. "But if you think its best, I won't turn you down your offers, and I think my brother will not turn down some extra hands."

"Especially with a chest like mine," Varric stated as he puffed up to show his burly chest. The group laughed as C-Sec finally arrived to cover the scene. The path was set for all the souls that will call the _Normandy_ home. May fate look out for them during these dark times.

**Bonus Scene**

"How much do you want for the Compound Bow?" Leliana asked the shopkeeper as he slowly got out of cover as C-Sec gave the all clear.

"This one offers it for free for you and your team since you helped in saving this one's life," the hanar told the young woman.

"Great and how much do you want for the license and blueprints?" Adam asked as the hanar looked thoughtful.

"This one is willing to negotiate," the hanar said as the world returned to normal for the business jellyfish. All was well.

 

**Character Stats**

Name and Rank: Ms. Leliana (cadet)

Species: human

Class: rogue trained in tech

Special: bard

Melee Weapon: molecular bladed daggers

Grenades: cryo grenades

Kinetic Weapons: MB-5 Compound Bow, N7 Valiant, & M-6 Carnifex

Ammo: inferno rounds

**Next**

Name and Rank: First of the Keeper Merrill (cadet)

Species: elf

Class: balanced magician (mage)

Special: keeper spells and power derives from a sloth demon named Fargo

Melee Weapon: molecular bladed staff

Grenades: vine grenades

Kinetic Weapons: Arc Pistol (power amplifier), & Geth Plasma SMG (power amplifier)

Ammo: particle plasma rounds

**Next**

Name and Rank: Sten of the Beresaad (cadet)

Species: qunari

Class: berserker (soldier)

Melee Weapon: molecular bladed greatsword

Grenades: sticky grenade

Kinetic Weapons: N7 Typhoon (heavy barrel, omni-blade & Stability Damper), Reegar Combine, & Blood Pack Punisher (heavy barrel & heatsink)

Ammo: cryo rounds

**Next**

Name and Rank: Mr. Varric (cadet)

Species: dwarf

Class: rogue trained in tech

Special: cloaking generator

Melee Weapon: dual molecular bladed daggers

Grenades: flash bang grenades

Kinetic Weapons: MB-10 Crossbow, & M-6 Carnifex

Ammo: explosive rounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done, sorry for the long delay but I was sentenced to a hospital for a one in a million chance that laid me up for more than a month. Just glad I am finally done. Well, almost, that is. Now to a rant. I can see why people view Ashely as a racist, but I do not think she was. If anything, I think she was a nationalist, who separates species much like we separate people from their native country and content. This is proven by the fact she was protective of Tali and did not view Tali as a security threat. As opposed to the turians who were once enemies, the krogans who are assumed to be criminals by military regulation, and Liara being the daughter of an ally of Saren. Not to say that it was a good thing, but it is not racism, yet.  
> A) Added to Cerberus and Other Organization Codex (New Name) Cerberus: Ground, Air, and Space Vehicles, and Mercenary Band: The Black Kahunas, and added to the Weapons and Equipment Codex the MB-5 Compound Bow and MB-10 Crossbow.


	7. The First Human SPECTRE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, those are both owned by Bioware and sadly seem to update faster than I do since it is their job and life does not affect them.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 02/10/2019

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Confederation Alliance of Worlds' Embassy**

**Human Date: February 9, 2183**

Deep within a human embassy, Leliana was having a lovely dream as she slept in the most comfortable bed she had ever been on in her life. It felt as though the bed was made for her body, thus making her sleep well into the morning and oblivious to the door to her room opening from the outside. She, or her roommate, Merrill, did not hear the patter of footsteps across the metal floor. She only noticed something was off when she felt the whole bed move. Her eyes fluttered open slowly to see large black eyes that belong to the giant green insect moving her bed. Leliana stared for a second before she let out a scream, startling both the keeper and Merrill who immediately ran out of the room.

The keeper ran out the door past the group that came to see all the commotion. Leliana and Merrill were glad they slept clothed when Varric, Ashely Williams, and Kaidan Alenko, who arrived in their standard jumpsuit clothing worn under their armor. The group looked bewildered at the keeper running away and at Lieutenant James Reed's reaction as he came in with his M-8 Avenger half ready to deal with the threat and sigh in annoyance. Seeing his instincts were right, he groaned as his eyes followed the keeper's retreat.

"Let me guess, a keeper was trying to move your bed while you were sleeping?" James asked as he pulled up his rifle.

"Yes," Leliana answered back with a blank look at an irritated lieutenant that sighed in acceptance.

"Sorry about that, the keepers often rearranging furniture and equipment from time to time. We don't know why exactly, but it is theorized it's because of preset programming made by the Protheans when they owned this station," James explained to the group as he settled down in annoyance.

"Can't they be reprogramed?" Ashely Williams asked, and James shook his head negatively.

"The Council forbids its, claiming they don't want anyone interfering in operations. Possibly, it is because they are afraid someone will mess up their programming and they will lose the best mechanics on the station and force them personally to take care of the logistic nightmare that is the Citadel. But that is just my biased opinion on the fact that the keepers are a pain in the ass to security."

"The brief on the keepers said they were supposed to be docile workers and would not bother anyone, so they are to be left alone. How would they translate into a security risk?" Kaidan asked.

"Because they don't care that when they enter a room that they may be moving and even accessing sensitive equipment and material," James told the group and Varric caught onto what James implying.

"And since the Council is the one that claims they are just docile workers, I assume there is the fear that the political tri-force is lying and they are in fact using them to spy on anyone that has an embassy in their capital."

"That and I'm just waiting for someone to just reprogram them to kill someone, assuming it hasn't been done before and just never made the news outlet, so people don't know how vulnerable the Council's system is," James added to superstition before he switched subjects. "Well, I better inform security and tell them they need to perform another security check. The boys are not going to like it," James mumbled as he left the group, alone.

Alone, Varric broke the silence as he stated, "Well, that's a thing and a rude way to wake up, aye nightingale?"

"I could have done without the creepy crawlies waking me up," Leliana grumbled as she got up to put on her civilian clothing.

"You thought they were creepy?" Merrill asked in shock. "I thought they were quite cute. They are like giant friendly spiders."

"You like spiders, Daisy?" Varric asked with amusement.

"Only the small cute ones; not the giant ones that ambush people and eat them," Merrill admitted. "Luckily there are no giant ones in space, except the darkspawn ones. And they are always ugly and… uh…" Merrill started to trail off before fatigue began to catch up to her.

Anders caught her quickly and helped the young elf, down stating, "Calm yourself, Doctor Chakwas said you need to rest. As her interim medical intern before I leave for medical school, I do not want to feel her wrath because you ignored her orders."

"At least no one yelled at us, remember what our _lovely_ ambassador did," Kaidan pointed out as the group recalled that particular conversation.

**Recall Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Confederation Alliance of Worlds' Embassy**

**Human Date: February 6, 2183**

"You're not making my life easier you know," Udina growled as he faced the large group of soldiers and his star witness standing before him. "All out firefights you had in the wards, millions in property damages, and the deaths of not only six Confederation soldiers, but over a dozen civilians. And my personal favorite, you lost two of my star witnesses; one to injuries and the other made an invalid thanks to the muddling of her mind during the implantation. Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused!?"

"I say not much trouble when you take into consideration we have captured a local kingpin aligned to Saren for C-Sec and found more evidence against Saren. We gathered evidence that was used to track down an ally of Saren that we didn't even know about. And my personal favorite, we saved the witness from a hit that Saren's kingpin put on him," Jane pointed out much to Udina's anger and to Anderson and Nakmor's amusement.

Amusement turned to a smile, as John added, "Not to mention that we saved our witness from an attempted assassination thereby making sure you have a witness instead of a corpse."

Udina looked intense and was about to yell some more as the Ambassador declared, "That's enough Udina; you've made your point just as they have made theirs. So, let us move on and focus on the valuable information that they got us. Legion's Shadow, did you discover who our friend is?"

"Negative, Nakmor-Ambassador," Legion's Shadow admitted. "The facial structure and voice patterns do not match any known asari criminal-unit on record or any that this unit has retained as priority unit files in our data banks. Informational retrieval programs have now expanded the data banks to look for known asari units on record, but it will take several galactic days to find a match among that large population."

"Does those data banks include governmental, celebrities and politically connected asari?" Andrew Anderson asked.

"Affirmative Anderson-Rear Admiral," Legion's Shadow nodded before it developed a quizzical look. "Query. Does the asari unit look familiar?"

"No, not exactly, I think that I remember seeing an asari that looks a bit like her during a conference I had to guard early in my career," Anderson commented as he was hard-pressed to put a name with the picture.

One joined by the ambassadors when Nakmor mumbled out loud, "Now that you mentioned it, I think I've seen her a few times before at some peace conferences I've attended since I've become the ambassador for the Confederation. I just can't remember specifically where, nor remember her name."

Legion's Shadowing, admiring how organics can recall things with the barest minimum of inputs, pulled up an electronic screen to type in its commands. "Search parameters will be narrowed to the criteria mentioned, but it will still take up to twelve hours before a match can be found."

"Time that we don't have since the Council has upped the timetable of the trial by two hours and has agreed to allow Saren to holo-conference the meeting from a disclosed, but un-assessable location!" Udina practically yelled

"You mean he is not going to be here?" Jane asked in shock as Udina nodded in anger.

"That's right Commander. He is not going to be here, claiming he is on assignment in Illium in the Terminus System, and the Council is bending over backwards to accommodate him. The fact you shot up the Wards just made it all that more difficult to convince them, and it's entirely your fault!" Udina practically yelled at the group, making his displeasure known before he calmed down and walked away while giving out some finale order, "Taking a few minutes to get properly dress and meet us in the Citadel Tower. We have a hard case to win."

**End Recall**

"Yeah, Udina the grumpy ambassador was not a happy man to deal with," Varric stated with a small smirk as he settled down.

"You mean asshole, laying all his problems on us when all we did was our job," Ashely stated as she stood with a perfect posture, unlike her laidback fellow officer, Kaidan.

"You have to admit we could have done a better job out there," Kaidan pointed out as Ashely nodded reluctantly.

"Maybe, but to me, it's more BS politics than us not just doing our job as well as we could. Hell, it felt more like he was taking out his anger on us instead of manning up to the fact that he could not get Saren here even if he had days to make that argument. This shows why politicians and the military don't mix," Ashely stated negatively.

Leliana, seeing how the conversation was becoming political, decided to switch subjects as she put on her armored clothing, "So, we are alone, where is the rest of the crew?"

"The Trex, Legion-VII, and Tali are back on the _Normandy_ , getting it ready for launch. Joker and Doctor Chakwas were the last two to get on board the ship. We'll be leaving in a few hours, give or take," Kaidan told Leliana, who looked up with a smile.

"Oh, they reported in together, are they a couple, like our two qunari friends?" Leliana asked with enthusiasm.

"I wouldn't say that," Kaidan admitted. "More like they have a long-term patient and doctor relationship, you will have to ask them for specifics."

"Anyway, Supreme Commander Wrex is contacting his government, informing them he's coming with us on this crazy trip, believe it or not. Captain John Shepard and Lieutenant Commander Velanna O'Connell are off taking care of some last-minute preparations at some bar. As for Commander Jane Shepard, well she um… she um…" Ashely began to stutter when Varric saved her with a smile.

"Let's just stay Lady Shepard found a reason not to come home as she is staying with some VIP." Varric's smile let everyone know the kind of visit as a few giggled and others blushed at the thought of what now their superior officer was doing.

**Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Consort's Office**

**Human Date: February 9, 2183**

It was early in the morning as Jane Shepard began to stir in what would be the most comfortable and most awkward position she felt in recent history. Her comfort coming from the fact she had found herself in probably the softest bed she ever slept on in her entire life. The bed was large enough to hold half a dozen people if need be. While her awkwardness came from the fact that she had felt the bed's owner large, squishy breasts pressed deep in her back. Her body was still simulated from last night's actives, making Jane feel even more awkward and a little horny from the two blue arms wrapped around her body caressing her bare breasts.

Jane tensed and felt a little squeamish as she moved slightly around. It was not enough to break the asari's hold on her but enough to wake her bed partner as she began to kiss the back of her neck and moved onto the younger woman's ears. Jane felt the hot air brush against her ear as the Consort said in a soft, delicate voice, "Good morning Shepard. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept… well enough," Jane had stammered as a blush formed on her face, much to the amusement of the Consort, Sha'ira.

"You know, I am a bit surprised you are still embarrassed after such a memorable night," the Consort smiled as Jane shifted in the woman's arms to face the asari.

"It was a fun night," Jane chuckled with the Sha'ira before she shifted into a more serious mood. "I'm just perplexed about how I should feel about being attracted to a blue-skinned woman when I wasn't even attracted to any woman a few days ago."

Sha'ira leaned in Jane giving her a small smile and released some comforting words, "That understandable. Many species cannot understand that as we are a mono-gender species, we do not view the sexes in the same way. Male or female to us is more about who carries the child after we mate then what sex one is born with."

"So, what does that make me, the male or the female in this case?" Jane asked as the Consort laughed before kissing the young human on her lips.

"It makes you a lover that deserves a little more of her physical reward for helping me with not only with Septimus but getting the Elcor diplomat to back down as well," the Consort stated with a smile.

"It was no problem, especially as you did help me nail Saren by pointing me in the right direction," Jane smiled as she recalled the Council meeting that happened a few days ago.

**Recall Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Citadel Tower**

**Human Date: February 6, 2183**

The Council Tower, home of the Citadel Council Chambers and the home of the most influential individuals in the galaxy, was itself the most significant symbol of the Council's power. The tower was over 1047m (3435ft) high complete with an elevator fast enough that it only takes exactly a minute to reach the Council Chambers. A chamber that had a three-layered floor plan designed to make visitors feel intimidated starting with a decorative fountain on the first floor that showcased the Council's wealth. Wealth compounded by the presence of large trees with leaves resembling red cherry blossoms that resonated as visitors had to climb thousands of stairs before they reach the top. Startling people with their beauty before visitors even met the most influential people in the galaxy.

For at the very top was a platform overlooking a glass garden where petitioners pleaded their case to the Citadel Council. Two CAW Ambassadors, _Normandy_ 's chief of staff and First Battalion soldiers, their healthy eyewitness, and Officer Garrus stood in the garden as they stared up to the Citadel Council members that were upon a raised balcony. By the Councilor's side was the grey, cybernetic turian SPECTRE, Saren. The Confederation was in an uphill legal battle against Saren, but they were ready to come swinging as the Asari Councilor, Tevos started the trial.

"This meeting between the Citadel Council and the Confederation Alliance of Worlds on the accusation of Saren's involvement in an attack on the Confederation's colony world Eden Prime will now come to order. Does anyone want to give an opening statement?"

"Let's just get this farce of a trial over and done with," Saren growled through the flickering hologram. "Nihlus was a fellow SPECTRE and my friend. To even think I would commit such a terrible crime against my friend, along with committing treason against the Council is inconceivable."

"I have to agree with Saren. C-Sec found no evidence of treason," the Turian Councilor Spartacus argued for Saren while the head of C-Sec, Executor Venari Pallin, a white-faced brown, reluctantly agreed as indicated by the twitch of his massive jaw.

"Yeah, what a shock that C-SEC found nothing when the case was cut short and everything SPECTRE touches is classified. I can't see how that could go wrong," Officer Garrus Vakarian muttered angrily below the range of hearing.

Something Ambassador Udina was grateful for when he started his rounds, "C-SEC may not have found anything, but we have found evidence of his crimes, starting with an eyewitness."

"An eyewitness?" the Salarian Councilor Valern asked in shock. "The only eyewitness that is noted in Jane's logs was a traumatized dockworker that is also a smuggler. Hardly a reputable witness."

"I wasn't talking about Mr. Powell, but another, who was taken by one of the invading ships that were shot down," the krogan ambassador Nakmor stated, gaining the Council's undivided attention onto himself and his star witness. "A woman that DNA testing and over-exposure to the X-Chromosome Mutation Disease shows prolong exposure from birth demonstrating that she was born on the darkspawn's homeworld. She has a story to tell. Leliana of Orlais on the world, Thedas."

"A pleasure to meet you," Leliana bowed before she retold her story. A story about the attack of the darkspawn, her kidnapping, and her ordered imprisonment.

A moving story that convinced the Asari Councilor, who had the doubts about Saren's character, though no one ever saw it thanks to hundreds of years of training in politics. It played on her emotions and invoked her sympathies winning over the Asari. However, it did little to move the other two Counselors who were more in tune with hard logic than emotions. Especially the Turian Councilor, Spartacus, as he snorted aloud, "That proves nothing, as all turians sound the same to you humans."

"That is untrue, as I spent years as a bard… eh, singer and I can tell the difference between voices. For instance, Garrus, while a higher pitch has a deeper tone compared to the Councilor, and Saren's is even deeper in tone and pitch, and his voice sounds gruff and almost scratchy to my ears. It's not a voice that one can forget, along with his mechanical blue eyes and his distinctive metallic face as I was put in my freezing coffin," Leliana added with a solemn face that indicated she told the truth.

Saren was not impressed with the accusation as he turned with a verbal attack, "Are we really taking the word of a primitive girl that comes from a world that is far from the industrial age? Let alone the space age."

"And how would you know about the level of technology Leliana's people are at?" Anderson asked with suspicion written over his face. "The only way you could know that is if you were there yourself."

"Admiral David Anderson," Saren said with a mocked snarl as he stared down at the powerful human. "It figures that you would be involved when the Confederation accuses me of treason. You could never let things go, even when I have done nothing wrong," Saren added to build doubt in the evidence against him before turning towards the other two high-ranking human soldiers. "And these must be your protégées, Captain John Shepard and Commander Jane Shepard. I've read the report of Eden Prime, and I'm not impressed, but then what can you expect from humans."

Jane twitched in annoyance, and she would have retorted if Udina did not beat her to it with a sarcastic twitch. "That is high talk coming from a traitor who is trying to put the blame on us. Well not this time as we have more evidence against you, Legion's Shadow."

Legion's Shadow stepped-up and with a series of taps released a list of names and dates of those that had accessed secure STG's spy programs active in Eden Prime with Saren's name highlighted in several spots. Counselor Valern blanched at the fact that STG's spy programs were exposed as Legion explained the significance of the evidence, "As your organics' visual cortex can see, the Saren-unit had accessed surveillance files six times over the course of weeks before the attack. In addition, the unit had accessed it roughly around the time a debilitating virus was introduced into the Eden Prime-Colony World's Defense Grid, which was traced back to the spy program."

"That proves nothing," Saren growled with a hint of worry as he tried to come up with an excuse. "Lots of SPECTREs and STG members have access to these files, and I wasn't the only one that used it to spy on Eden Prime prior to the attack. It is just circumstance evidence."

"Perhaps it is, but it is damming circumstantial evidence as you have no reason for accessing those files while near the border of the Terminus Systems," the Salarian Counselor stated as he was convinced Saren was now behind the attack on Eden Prime. "The only reason you would access such information is if you planned to go to the colony yourself."

"Or I'm doing my periodic survey into a potentially dangerous group of races to make sure they don't betray the Council," Saren quickly pointed out as he tried to convince the doubting Turian Counselor he was not a traitor.

Though Saren should have not bothered as Jane presented the next set of evidence, "Then maybe you should explain why your ally used your name for an attack against our witness. Tali, if you please."

Ensign Tali'Zorah nar _Normandy_ nodded as she played back the audio she had collected from Fist. She played the recording between Fist and the unknown woman as she ordered the hit in Saren's name. It was a voice Counselor Tevos knew as she let go of centuries of training to allow her face to show how shocked she for a moment before she regained her cold visage. Counselor Spartacus was a different matter, as he was not convinced that either Saren was responsible for the attack or that he has been compromised. Either way, he needed to be brought in for questioning.

"There is enough evidence to prove Saren may be responsible for the attack on Confederation Colony World Eden Prime. Saren, I request you turn yourself in for questioning, or we will be forced to issue a warrant for your arrest and detainment," the Turian Counselor said as Saren sputtered out in anger.

"This is ridiculous! You're going to take the words of these… outcasts over my word! The Word of a SPECTRE!"

"If you need the word of a SPECTRE to show the truth, then may I suggest a fellow SPECTRE you had murdered," Anderson stated as he held for all to see, a Ghost Crystal before he inserted it into a holographic floating projector.

The project took a moment to connect to the crystal before it brought Nihlus back from the grave to be a witness to his own murder. Saren looked at the hologram in shock as he muttered softly, " _Nihlus,_ " as the ghost of the turian faced him.

"Saren, you shot me!" the dead SPECTRE exclaimed softly in a room as silent as the grave. "Why did you, Saren? Why did you kill me?"

"I had no choice for the Reapers are coming," Saren answered quietly before turning to Jane Shepard. "You saw them, didn't you Commander. You saw them through the Beacon as they destroyed the Protheans and they will do it again unless things change. So, I will do what must be done to save your race, my race and the whole even if I have to burn dozens if not even a hundred worlds to do so."

The Council, cold at the fact one of their SPECTREs was a traitor, only shared one look before Counselor Spartacus pressed one finger into his pad to give the order light years away, "Kill him."

That was all the warning given before in the background the audience heard the sound of gunfire played out as a team of Salarian STG burst in. Waves of holographic bullets passed through like ripples until the brown STG Captain ordered them to stop, " _Stop! Saren is not here! It's only a hologram_."

The gunfire stopped as Saren slowly began to smile, "You cannot stop what is to come, and I will do what I must to save you all."

And with those final words, Saren's image dispersed, and chaos was left in its wake until Counselor Spartacus called for order with, "QUIET!"

The chaotic shouts ended as Counselor Spartacus called over the floating projector to retrieve Nihlus's crystal. He looked like he wanted to break it to release Nihlus's spirit. However, Spartacus knew his duty of saving evidence as he set it down to give the Councils official statement, "Due to irrefutable evidence and his own confession, Saren is hereby stripped of his SPECTRE status, and all efforts will be made to make him answer for his crimes, one way or another."

"That may be difficult since he not only has an army of darkspawn, but he has a powerful ally I recognized from her voice. Matriarch Benezia," Counselor Tevos stated as Varric chuckled.

"Good we have a name to go with the woman that kidnapped us," Varric whispered to Zevran and Anders as Legion's Shadow recalled the name file.

"Confirmed with a ninety-three percent probability the unknown female-unit is Benezia-Matriarch," Legion's Shadow stated as the two Ambassadors nodded.

"I thought she looked familiar," Ambassador Nakmor stated as he thought it over. "I've seen her giving a speech of peace in a convention or two. I find it unusual such a woman would turn to such violence."

"Unusual or not, she is one of the most powerful biotics with many followers and allies. She will make a formable ally of Saren," Counselor Tevos stated with a hint of concern.

"I am more interested in these Reapers Saren keeps talking about them. What do you know about them?" Counselor Valern asked, and Anderson was bold enough to answer.

"Very little, but we do know it is terrifying thanks to the Beacon." Anderson then tapped on his omni-tool to activate a video file shown in holographic cubed TV. "The Beacon now downloaded the last moments of the Prothean Empire before its fall and who it says was responsible for the Prothean Empire fall."

And with a few taps, he played the disturbing image of people being slaughtered. Entire fleets and cities being wiped out and with the same words being repeated as by the same gargled worlds loosely translated, "Reapers."

Counselor Tevos gasped out, "By the Goddess."

"What nonsense is this? These Reapers killed off the Protheans, how could that possibly be?" Counselor Spartacus sputtered as he tried to make sense of what he had seen. "Where did these Reapers go? Why did they vanish too? How come we found no evidence of their existence?"

"Would we find any evidence?" Jane asked innocently. "It's been roughly fifty thousand years since the protheans disappeared and it's more than enough time for any of the evidence to disappear to the specter of time. Hell, on Earth, you wouldn't know where we fought major battles decades ago without a memorial stone telling us a battle was fought there, especially if they clean up after themselves like we do after any space or ground battle."

"And that is not taking into account the vastness of space both in the Milky Way Galaxy and beyond," John added. "After all, we have recall orders on our space probes, and considering the Prothean Empire spanned the entire galaxy, and we've only explored about two to three percent of our own galaxy. It wouldn't be far out there to just say we haven't found it yet."

"Perhaps but highly unlikely," Counselor Valern stated. "The image we saw could be any number of things. It could be the final moments of the Prothean Empire, as you seem to think it to be. Alternatively, it could be a corrupted vid or game meant to entertain the masses similar to our own doomsday vids or games. We don't have enough evidence to suggest these Reapers exist and should not waste our efforts chasing after something that could be a fairytale made real due to corrupt files downloaded into one's brain."

"What we do know is that even without these supposed 'Reapers,' Saren is still a major threat with an army of darkspawn he can breed and control," Counselor Spartacus stated with a frown.

"Then we must prevent him from gaining the upper hand. Send your fleets to hunt him down," Udina demanded from the Council, who did not like anyone demanding anything from them.

"A fleet would not be able to find Saren," Counselor Valern pointed out to Udina's determent.

"Then can we request a joint fleet in the Attican Traverse and other key territories to prevent any more attacks and box Saren in to annihilate him," Ambassador Nakmor suggested, but Counselor Spartacus disagreed.

"No, for it could very well trigger a war with the Terminus Systems, weakening us greatly while Saren builds up his strength before he attacked us in full strength. We need to send someone to hunt him down without the aid of a fleet."

Jane and John Shepard looked at each other before the two stepped up to state, "We can stop him."

"The Captain and Commander are right. They do have the skills to stop Saren, and we were considering appointing Commander Jane Shepard to a joint First Battalion and SPECTRE position," Tevos added, much to the concern of Counselor Spartacus.

"No, it's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibility of being a SPECTRE, and above that taking into account my doubts of her loyalty," Counselor Spartacus argued, but Jane would not be deterred.

"You have the Confederation's full backing in the Attican Traverse. You and the ambassadors get a human SPECTRE with ties to the First Battalion. Also, the Confederation First Battalion gets someone with access to Council space. Everyone wins, especially you since you can send a C-Sec Detective Garrus Vakarian and one of your other available SPECTREs to supervised us and to be the Council's voice," Jane added, much to John's annoyance at Jane's conditions. While Garrus looked happy to be included, especially if it annoyed his boss Executors Pallin.

The Council turned to each to silently debate if they should agree with Jane's argument. The asari and salarian were in full agreement when Tevos turned to Spartacus to ask silently for his approval. With great reluctance, the turian nodded in agreement before the three Counselors began typing into their control panels. Now recorded for the record, the Council turned towards the young woman before them.

"Commander Jane Shepard, step forward," ordered Counselor Tevos, in which Jane complied after a nod of approval from David Anderson.

A great crowd began to appear, as the room became quiet as Counselor Tevos started the vows of the SPECTRE, "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance Branch of the Citadel Council."

Counselor Valern: "SPECTREs are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."

Counselor Tevos: "SPECTREs are an ideal, a symbol. They are the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, the instruments of our will."

Counselor Spartacus: "SPECTREs bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human SPECTRE, Commander and the first one with joint membership with the new First Battalion. This is a great accomplishment for you, your entire species and your allies," Tevos stated, finishing off the oath as Commander Jane Shepard gave a short bow.

"I am honored."

"We are sending you after Saren with a SPECTRE and C-Sec representative as you suggested. He is a fugitive that needs to be brought to justice," Counselor Valern stated.

"Any leads you can provide us?" Captain John Shepard asked.

"We'll forward any relevant information to you, your government and our SPECTRE representative as we get them," Counselor Spartacus told the Captain before Tevos called this meeting to a close.

"This meeting of the Council was over."

**End Recall**

Now Commander Jane Shepard stood, a SPECTRE of the Council and a soldier in the First Battalion, she never felt as proud as she smoothed out her vested uniform. She put on the final touches when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist. "Leaving so soon?" Sha'ira asked.

"I have a busy day, and you have clients waiting for you I believe," Jane replied, almost with a stutter, as the Consort nodded with acceptance as she let the young woman go.

"Then before you go, I offer one final gift," the Consort Sha'ira stated as Jane faced the woman, feeling relaxed for some reason as the Consort looked deeply into her eyes. "I see within you a soldier, a life molded by order, discipline and tragedy. You wear your uniform as though you were born into it despite the loss of someone important because of it. It drives you to be better, to do the thing right. And you'll need that drive, that conviction for the days to come."

Jane stared at the asari, unsure what to say when a small smile appeared as she bowed her head into Consort's head. "Thank you," Jane silently whispered before straitening her body as she moved to leave the Consort to her clients, wondering what her brother was doing.

**Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Presidium: Blue World Embassy Bar**

**Human Date: February 9, 2183**

Near the Confederation Alliance of Worlds' Embassy was an expensive high-class watering hole called the Blue World Embassy Bar. The bar was a safe haven where diplomats and high-ranking officials of the Confederation mingled and relaxed when not working to push forward the Confederation and their own interests. Sitting in one of the stalls was John Shepard, talking with his third in command Lt. Commander Velanna O'Connell about their new crew additions.

"I really wish Jane talked to me before inviting the Council to send someone for oversight of our operations," John grumbled as he looked at the pads. "Sure, Garrus proved to be a skilled officer, and someone I can trust under fire, along with our new recruits from Thedas. But asking another SPECTRE to step in to supervise is going to be a pain. Especially the one they propose to watch over us."

"You think this Jondum Bau will be a problem?" Velanna asked.

"That is the biggest problem, I just don't know," John admitted as he looked over the salarian's record on a datapad. "He was in STG before he joined the SPECTREs and probably knows how to fight. However, during his tenure with the STG and SPECTREs, his primary focus has been data mining and white-collar crime. He has a few noteworthy battles with a success rate that is higher than your average soldier, but it is not something you brag about to an elite squad. I think he is basically the Council's investigator that uncovers dirty secrets while ensuring that information and things were taken from the Council and its members are returned without anyone the wiser."

"Maybe that is why he was sent. To stand in the background to observe while investigating how Saren turned traitor," Velanna pointed out to a thoughtful John.

"Perhaps, or meant to spy on us. Either way, we'll have to keep an eye on him," John commented as he put down the pad. "Now as for our new recruits, we will need to think up a training program to get them up to snuff-" John trailed off before an older man interrupted him.

"Sorry to interrupt, but are you, Captain John Shepard?"

John, not happy someone interrupted his thought process, turned to give the man a piece of his mind when he turned to the tall Hawaiian. However, he stopped when he realized the older man was a Rear Admiral in the Confederation Navy. John quickly got up and saluted the superior, bearded officer with Velanna as he gave calm, courteous answers, "Yes sir. I am Captain John Shepard. And you are sir?"

"Rea Admiral Akamai Kahoku, commander of 3rd Scouting Flotilla of the Fifth Fleet," the old man answered, much to Velanna's shock.

"The man that led several successful campaigns against the Batarian back slavers during and after the Skyllian Blitz."

John felt his back straighten a bit more in respect when Admiral Kahoku asked the two, "May I sit down?"

"Yes sir," as all three moved to sit down. An awkward silence hung over the trio before John asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, I heard you were going into the Attican Traverse, and I have a personal request for you," the Admiral admitted. "One of my scouting parties has disappeared in the Artemis Tau Cluster on a planet called Edolus in the Sparta System. Then all of a sudden, it became a restricted area, and I was told nothing about what happened to my men. Captain, I am asking you to find out what happened to my men. You should be able to investigate as a member of the First Battalion and your sister being a SPECTRE as well."

John looked as Velanna, asking silently what they should do before turning over to the Rear Admiral, "I don't see a reason why we can't investigate if we are in the area, but we need more information. Did they report anything, or was anything out of the ordinary before they disappeared?"

"The whole mission they were on was odd and possibly dangerous," Kahoku admitted. "The survey team was on that planet because it was traced back to a derelict ship that contained the body of a scientist named Bane."

"Bane? As in Atriums Bane?" John asked in shock as the Admiral slowly nodded.

"Yes, that is his full name. How do you know that name?" Kahoku asked, and John gave a tale of an answer.

"We've heard that name last night after helping a doctor, who was too much of a bleeding heart when she gave away medical goods in her previous job and was being blackmailed by this Krogan.…"

**Recall Location: Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Wards: Flux**

**Human Date: February 8, 2183**

Inside Flux, a new nightclub opened all day, Jenna was preparing for her second day back on the job since she was no longer needed at Chora's Den for C-Sec. The owner had been arrested, and the strip club was damaged thanks to the firefight that happen earlier. So, she was back to work at her old job and was straightening out her elegant dress uniform when her sister came up to her, "Hey sis, ready to go back to work."

"Yes, yes I am," Jenna had replied before she looked at her look like, Rita. "You don't seem too happy I'm back sis."

"Oh, I am happy you're out of the den and no longer in such dangerous work, but I just remember what it was like working with you," Rita admitted. "My tips have gone from decent to abysmal the moment you came back, and I don't see it getting any better."

Jenna winced, thinking it was a bit unfair that her sister was not paid for the quality of her work rather than how she looked compared to herself. Therefore, she decided to try to cheer her up with some dark humor, "Well, I can always go back to C-Sec and see if they have any other jobs available for informants."

Rita just glared at her in response, "Don't you even joke about it. You don't know how worried I was about you. I feared that one day I would… I would… I would get the letter saying you died and I feared that I would see you in one of those body bags they brought out of Cora's Den. I f-feared y-y-you w-wo-woul-wouldn't c-c-come h-h-h-home a-a-al-alive," Rita practically cried before her sister as Jenna gave her a hug.

"Hey none of that, I am here now, safe and not going to be out of your site for a long time since I had my fill of adventure, at least for now," Jenna smiled as Rita stopped crying as she gave a small smile of relief. "Now come on, I don't think we want to keep Doran waiting and I wish to go to work without fear of being shot at."

Rita smiled as she moved to open the door in time to see a krogan thrown across the club floor. The whole club, including the volus owner, Doran watched in silence as the familiar Captain John Shepard walked across the room. He grabbed the krogan bringing him up to eye level as he announced his threat while Velanna stood overhead, watching her Captain's back.

"Now you are going to end your little blackmail scheme against Doctor Chloe Michel, or I will make sure you won't talk anymore, capicé."

"Yes, I understand you," the krogan groaned, unable to comprehend how a human was able to throw him across a room, even if the man was a human biotic.

"Good, and now since we are the best of friends; can you tell me again who it was you told the Doctor's secret to again?"

"It was Bane, Armistan Bane," krogan growled as John smiled in response.

"Thank you. Now Velanna, if you would?" John asked as the young elven mage nodded before healing the krogan's wounds, and with her power, she forcefully put the krogan to sleep as John let him slump to the ground.

With their task done, the two moved out of the nightclub, with Velanna waving at the two startled waitresses while John transferred credits to the startled volus as they made their exit, telling him to "Keep the Change."

Once outside and onto the busy streets, the duo called for a cab instead of taking the long elevator rides as John made the call. He did not have to wait long as Dr. Chloe Michel from the local clinic answered through the comms, " _This is Doctor Chloe Michel, and how can I help you_?"

"It's Captain John Shepard. I just wanted to report that the job is done. I was able to convince the man blackmailing you to leave you alone," John reported, much to the woman's relief.

" _Thank you, Captain, you don't know how much of relief you bring_ ," Dr. Michel smiled before she developed a thoughtful look on the vid comm. "I just wish I knew how they knew my secret."

"The blackmailer mentioned someone named Armistan Banes," Velanna said softly from behind John's shoulder. "Does that ring any bells?"

"Yes, it does," Dr. Michel had answered the group. "I worked with Banes a long time ago, and he knew how I got fired from my last job because I provided humanitarian aid without the hospital's consent. However, I don't know why he would do this. Especially since last I heard he was contracted by the Confederation in the Attican Traverse."

"Cortana, can you confirm this?" John asked through the comms.

"Negative Captain. No records of the Armistan Banes contracted by the Confederation," answered Cortana through the comms.

"We may need to look into him when we have the chance. Have a file open for investigation when we have the chance," John ordered and the AI.

"Well regardless, thank you, Captain, for all the help. I don't know how to repay you."

"I have a way," John stated before he gave his pitch. "The Confederation Navy needs good doctors, now more than ever. And seeing how you are going to be in constant danger might as well have someone back you up. You should have no problem signing up with your now clean record if you wanted to.

There was brief silence before the good doctor smiled, "You know, maybe I should or at least think about. Thank you again, Captain, you gave me a lot to think about and goodbye."

**End Recall**

"Afterwards we did some research on Banes, and all we could discover was that he was apparently a freelance scientist. My guess he was probably tight on money as he couldn't find work, but you seem to think otherwise. Don't you sir?" John asked, and Admiral Kahoku replied with a nod.

"Banes was most likely trying to force the Doctor into debt so she would be forced to work for Cerberus."

"Cerberus? Who are they and why does that sound familiar?" Velanna asked.

"You know them because Cerberus is the center of many criminal investigations," the Admiral told the young elf. "As for who they are, Cerberus was a black opts founded before the Human System Alliance founded the Confederation. They started off, as a private organization and mercenary group that is very secretive and powerful. Powerful enough they had actually expanded since the 2150's when they should have been disbanded when CID, CNIS, and R&D were created."

"What sort of crimes are they being investigated for?" John asked.

"Theft, racketeering, extortion, espionage, corporate and political assassination of character, murder, literal assassination, mass kidnapping, illegal experimentation on organic and synthetic sentient beings, and terrorism," the Admiral answered with a straight face indicating his sincerity.

"And no one has gone after them?"

"You try charging someone with lack of evidence," Kahoku growled. "It's hard to pin something on someone who is very good at eliminating evidence that they were even there, let alone committed the crime."

"So, you want me to gather evidence against Cerberus as well?" John asked.

Kahoku looked thoughtful before answering, "That would be nice, but not required as I just want to find out if my men are alright. Can you do that for me, Captain?"

"I'll do my best, if we are near the cluster that you want us to investigate," Captain John Shepard answered the relieved Admiral.

"Thank you, Captain. Here are the coordinates of their last position. I always leave you my private channel, as I'll be on the move from here to Arcturus Station, trying to get answers through official channels. I wish you luck and thank you again," Rear Admiral Kahoku bowed before leaving the two alone.

"Well that is something," Velanna commented in a small whispered. "All we need now is a message saying the _CSS Normandy_ is ready, and it would be like a movie, or a story driven video game."

John snorted when his omni-tool chime to reveal he had a call coming in. He pulled it up to see it was Cortona, "Sorry to interrupt Captain, but the Normandy is ready to fly. Rear Admiral Anderson wants you, Jane, and everyone there to return to the ship to give you the details of your mission."

"I'll be there," John stated, giving a look to a surprised Velanna before he made the call to everyone to return to the docks for the long road of their mission.

**Serpent Nebula/Window/Citadel/Wards: Confederation Docking Port**

**Human Date: February 9, 2183**

There was a large group before the _CSS Normandy_ , ready for their superior officers' debriefing, starting with Rear Admiral David Anderson, "Good, you all have made it, we can now begin this meeting."

Anderson then turned to Garrus and a dark-skinned, brown salarian in black and yellow striped armor, "As you all know Officer Garrus, who gracefully accepted the offer. Allow me to introduce SPECTRE Jondum Bau; he'll be the Council's spokesmen during the mission."

"I will also be providing intelligence from the Council, as gathering intelligence is more my specialty then fighting," Jondum Bau bowed.

"Do you know where Saren is at this moment?" Jane asked, and Jondum shook his head no.

"Believe me, if we did, we would be hearing about STG attempts at assassinating him, all I have is leads I provided to your CID."

Legion's Shadow, who was followed by his new trainee, Zevran, presented its information, "We have identified several different acolyte-units, commandoes-units, and procreated-units of Benezia-Matriarch. All of which are unimportant, except for one unit, Lira T'Soni-Doctor."

"Doctor Lira T'Soni is a famous Prothean Archeologist that was last reported to be at a dig site in the Artemis Tau Cluster. It's vital we find her as she may have important information since she is listed to be the sole heir of Matriarch Benezia's estate," Ambassador Nakmor stated.

"We've also had intelligence Saren is looking for her," Jondum added quickly. "Possibly to hold hostage if Benezia is not as willing as we thought, or to pull her expertise on the protheans. We don't want to find out, I think."

"We were going to stop by the Artemis Tau Cluster anyway. It is just a priority now," John stated as Jane looked at John quizzically, wondering what she had missed.

"It's your ship, you don't answer to us anymore unless we are head of the Confederation Navy or the Council," Anderson stated with a small smile.

One that was not shared by the Ambassador Udina, "But now your part of this joint venture which means anything you do will harm us as well. If you make a mess, I will have to clean it up."

"Then we'll try to keep it at a minimum, if only for Ambassador Nakmor's sake," Jane chirped, much to Udina's annoyance and Nakmor's humor.

Nakmor was still laughing as he stated, "Glad to hear it, and now we bid you ado."

The two ambassadors left with Legion's Shadow, leaving Zevran and David Anderson along with the Normandy Crew. Zevran and Anders looked at Leliana and Varric as Sten and Merrill were loaded onto the ship with Anders, taking notes along the way. Alone, Zevran smiled as he stated, "So this is where we part ways."

"Yes, it is, Zev," Varric smiled back. "You know you can come with us. It's apparently a big universe, and we should stick together."

"Thank you kindly, but I am not one to turn down a job offer that fits my unique skills. I wish you luck and Andraste's hope," Zevran bowed before he walked out of their life forever, leaving one other to give his goodbye to his unofficial apprentices.

"I am going to miss both of you," David Anderson admitted.

"And we'll miss you too," Jane smiled as she saluted Anderson followed by John. "We'll make you proud."

"I know you will. I'll keep in touch and stop by once in a while. Good luck," Anderson saluted before he walked away, leaving the group to disperse into the _Normandy._ Brother and sister were the last ones to enter through the airlock that was near the cockpit.

A place Joker was waiting, "So a legends end and new ones are born."

"Looks like it," John admitted. "It's going to feel odd without Anderson in charge."

"You'll get us through. The Admiral trusted you, and I cannot speak for everyone, but I trust you two as well," Joker smirked before opening the com-channel. "The intercom system is active if you want to give a speech."

The brother and sister duo looked at each other before they nodded and John began, "This is Captain John Shepard and his sister, Commander Jane Shepard. We have our orders, find Saren to make him pay for his crimes and to stop him from finding this conduit. A task I won't lie to you, that will not be easy."

"For as long as we can remember, we all have been treated as though we were the outcasts and all alone within this galaxy. But that is no longer the case. We are going to prove to the galaxy that we are a united people that fight for what is right," Jane stated right before John followed.

"A fight we will be taking to Saren and his followers across the traverse, as we need to stop him. Not only from attacking other Confederation's colonies, but also others that will be at risk from this crazy lunatic. He is a lunatic that will be ready to fight us for every milometer of space in the traverse."

"A fight we must take to him. Not only for humans, quarians, geth, and krogans but also for every species that calls this galaxy home. And I promise you that we will stop Saren, once and for all!" Jane stated with one last conviction.

"Well said Captain, Commander," Joker remarked, as he looked even more determined as John gave his first ship order.

"Take us out Joker, we have an ex SPECTRE to hunt for."

"Yes, sir!" Joker acknowledged before he detached the Normandy from docking control and made the escape vector from the Citadel, and with one hard burn made the jump to Artemis Tau Cluster, starting the main quest to hunt for Saren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done with this chapter, sorry it took so long but going back to school will be taking up more time. Just glad I got this done, and I will try to update faster once I get my new schedule down. It helps if you review, so please review and thanks for reading.   
> A) New Weapons for both the turians and asari, and Andromeda stuff added to the codex, so please check them out.  
> B) I have decided to end all author notes outside of special announcements like this one. I figure I do not need to explain why I did something if done well in the story. If someone questions why I did something, just leave a review, and I will answer it. Previous author notes in my active stories are deleted or will be deleted if I am editing them like Naruto the Elemental Star.


	8. Wicked Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, and I beginning to think someone else should determine the direction EA is forcing Bioware to go.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 03/17/2019

**Artemis Tau/Macedon/ _CSS Normandy_ /Deck 1**

**Human Date: February 9, 2183**

Deep within an unremarkable system of the Artemis Tau cluster that held a Mass Relay was an area John Sheppard thought was the perfect starting point for their search as the _CSS Normandy_ dropped out of FTL speeds near the Relay. "We have arrived at the Artemis Tau cluster, specifically the Macedon system," Joker reported as he typed away on his console. "Why do people insist on giving these systems weird names?"

"I am sure people think the same thing when they hear your name, Joker," Cortana pointed out. "Besides, the name of this system is not that weird as this system was named after Macedonia, an ancient Greek Empire which played heavily in human development. It is one of many Greek names represented in the Artemis Tau Cluster."

"As fascinating as this is, we have a job to do," Captain John Sheppard stated to bring his pilot and AI back into focus. "According to the files provided by Serrice University on the asari homeworld Thessia, along with the CID's own files, Dr. Liara T'Soni has been a wandering archeologist since she graduated; looking for any prothean artifacts that would prove her controversial theory."

"Controversial theory?" Joker asked with mild interest and humor.

"Something about how the galaxy is in a series of cultural cycles with the Protheans being the latest of a long line of the cycles. And that each cycle ends with the extinction of all the species within a cycle becomes. The archeologist's files were not very specific, and many do not think much of her theory," Cortana answered for John.

The Commander was glaring at the AI for reading his files without permission before stating, "Regardless of her theories, Doctor T'Soni has an outstanding reputation as an archeologist. As she was allowed into the outer territory of Confederation space to join a small expedition team to determine if the rumor of Prothean artifacts in the cluster are true. With multiple possible sites to explore and her group very own science ship, she could be anywhere in this Cluster. So, we are going to have to search every possible world, and moon to find her. Joker, plot a course through the cluster to allow Cortana to scan each planet for any indication of where Lira is. If Lira is not in the system, then set a course to the Sparta system. We'll search there while completing a favor for a Rear Admiral."

"Aye, Captain, I am plotting a course right now, ETA Sixteen Hours," Joker nodded as he typed away with Cortana preparing for intensive flyby scans.

John gave a nod of acknowledgment as SPECTRE Jondum Bau looked thoughtful, "Very impressive. The combination of a highly skilled pilot and AI computing power are turning a job that would take any other survey team thirty-hours into just sixteen. You truly have an excellent team despite the dangers of using AIs, and having a pilot that has Vrolik Syndrome."

Joker froze as Cortana's holographic body glared at the tall salarian. Commander Jane Sheppard turned to SPECTRE Jondum Bau in defense to ask, "Care to clarify what you mean by that?"

"Nothing really Commander, just a comment on how such risks of having personal with bones that can break easily, and a computer program that could kill everyone if she wanted to are just well… outweighed by the success and efficiency that they have shown by their skill and programming," the salarian chuckled nervously in embarrassment. "I am not making it better for me, am I?"

"Not by a long shot," Jane stated as she directed Jondum out. "Let's take a walk."

Jondum nodded as both Jane and John led him out of the room. Joker chuckled, "Can you say, sneaky spy?"

Which Cortana giggled, "Yes, very sneaky, as sneaky as a bull in a china shop." Cortana's face then morphed into a more sympathetic one as she asked Joker, "Are you alright? I know you have been sensitive about your… condition. I know what it means to be vulnerable, or question if you should be in the Confederation Navy."

"Says the woman with a starship for a body," Joker joked before he got serious. "It's fine, I have dealt with people intentionally being insensitive to others having brittle bones. So, it's nothing to be concerned about. Now let get this party started. We can't find a hot blue asari without looking."

"Aye Lieutenant," Cortana smiled as the two quickly got to work at the cockpit while Jane and John laid out some ground rules in the corridor.

"Please use common curtsey when addressing the ship's crew and away teams, and please refrain from comments about Joker's brittle bone syndrome. They are some of the best, and they deserve to be here," Jane added as she glared at Jondum.

"Of course, Commander, I meant no disrespect, and I don't want to cause any problems. I am not going to be involved in your operation," Jondum reassured the young woman, as John jumped into the conversation.

"Then why are you here?"

Jondum, paused, thinking how to give a delicate answer before delivering the truth, "I am sure your Confederation Intelligence Division (CID) has my records, and it indicates I am not the best when it comes to fighting."

"Yeah, I was kind of curious of how a SPECTRE with its reputation of being super spies would allow someone that is clearly not a major fighter into their ranks," Jane admitted before Jondum continued his explanation.

"Most of it is true, but like a few of your N Special Forces, some individuals are heavily trained in field work not related to combat such as recon or spy work. SPECTREs are very much the same, and I am the best when it comes to investigation. To finding things the Council Members lost, and in some cases, do not want to admit they're missing. Moreover, I am legally allowed to go to any lengths to retrieve said items unlike most police forces within the Citadel. From stealing back Council artifacts that some collector decides he must have, to finding and determine if a crime lord in the Terminus Systems Council Intelligence they allegedly have. No matter what it is, I will find it and uncover the truth."

"So, you're an investigator? Then what exactly are you investigating, SPECTRE?" John asked the taller than average salarian.

"Saren, of course," Jondum answered without hesitation. "Specifically, determining how long Saren was planning to betray the Council and why."

"You don't think Saren is just taking things into his own hands because of the Council's inability to reign in the Confederation?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow of disbelief.

One Jondum understands as he stated, "He was always a patriot who always followed his orders to the letter, especially if they came from the Turian Hierarchy. Saren cutting off his own arm for the cause is proof of that. The fact he now is apparently going against orders is unlike him, and I need to find out why. Especially from my few interactions made me believe he wanted to humble humanity and its allies to bring them into the Council's fold, not start a bloody war."

"Could it be possible that the Turian Hierarchy ordered him to attack us with possible deniability?" John asked as Jane's eyes widen in shock for even suggesting it, and for Jondum's own answer.

"I doubt it, but it is possible," Jondum admitted, as he looked far off. "If there is, then we will find it on this trail, and I will ensure the people that harm the Council's reputation will face justice, this I swear."

SPECTRE Jondum then gave a stiff nod before he walked away, leaving Jane and John in the CIC alone with Lieutenant Commander Charles Pressly, and Operations Chief Sarah Sinclair. Pressly eyes followed Jondum before turning to his superior officers to ask, "Sir, ma'am, do you want us to post security around the SPECTRE to keep him from accessing vital systems to send back to the Council?"

"I doubt there is anything on this ship the Council, or the Salarian's STG don't know about, and we have no real security measure we could implement to keep Jondum out. So, I think it would be pointless to even try," Commander Jane Sheppard mussed aloud. "However, best be safe than sorry and have standard security procedures for a guest, and restrict access to vital systems."

"Yes, ma'am. Should we apply the same security measure or even sticker ones against the _turian_?" Pressly asked with a small snarl near the end.

"For now, standard security procedures for guests are also for Officer Garrus Vakarian with the possibility to revise later. I also suggest you lose that attitude Lieutenant Commander Pressly," Captain John Sheppard stated with clear understanding.

"Sorry sir, but I fail to understand how playing nice with the Council will do any good. Especially since Saren attacked a Confederation colony and it is a Confederation ship that is chasing after him. I am not sure we need the Council around to muck it up," Pressly stated with a firm posture.

"I understand, but we cannot turn down potential allies. We need allies to stand in the galaxy, not more enemies to tear us apart. And the only way to gain allies is through hearts and minds. Which can never be achieved by being belligerent, especially when they are accommodating us," Jane told the old navigator that solemnly nodded back.

"I'll try ma'am," Pressly stated as Jane put her hand on his shoulder.

"That is all we ask," Jane stated before letting go and approached Sarah as she finished typing on her console.

"Captain, Commander, I have been able to coordinate with not only the CID, but also the various fleets commanders to not only locate Saren, but also get an accurate map of the Confederation fleet movements, battles, and mission requests," Sarah stated as she led them into the war room. Where holographic figures of four humans, a krogan, a quarian, and a geth were highlighted on the map:

Grand Admiral Hackett, Supreme Commander, Currently with the 5th Fleet, _CSS Orizaba_

Fleet Admiral Ines Lindholm, Commander of the 1st Fleet, _CSS Everest_

Fleet Admiral Talyth, Vurbon, Commander of the 2nd Fleet, _CSS Fang Point_

Fleet Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Rayya, Commander of the 3rd Fleet, _CSS Rayya_

Fleet Admiral Nitesh Singh, Commander of the 4th Fleet, _CSS Vesuvius_

Fleet Admiral Hutson Smith, Commander of the 5th Fleet, _CSS Clingmans Dome_

Fleet Admiral Unit Commander 117, Commander of the 6th Fleet, _CSS Black Ridge_

"Impressive Specialist Sarah, I take it we will be receiving the majority of orders from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Fleets under Grand Admiral Hackett?" Captain John Sheppard asked. "Since the First, Second, and Third Fleets are used for the defense of the human, krogan, and the quarian slash geth homeworlds."

"Yes, sir. Which is also why I have been coordinating with other high top ranking Admirals such as Admiral Han'Gerrel vas Neema, commander of the Seventh Fleet on the _CSS Neema._ Admiral Tabitha Howard, commander of the Eighth Fleet on the _CSS Fuji_. And Admiral Unit Commander 359, commander of the Ninth Fleet on the _CSS Knife Point_. Along with some other powerful Admirals, including Admiral Khel, Vacnor, commander of the Twelfth Fleet on the _CSS Denali_ ; and Admiral Chang Zu, commander of the Thirteenth Fleet on the _CSS Logan_ ," Sarah stated with pride that John acknowledge.

"Good work, with their help and the CID, we can hopefully get information on Saren's movement quick enough to allow us to intercept him before he causes any more harm," John stated as Jane stared at the name of the Commander of the Third Fleet.

"Fleet Admiral Rael'Zorah, is he related in any way with Tali?" Jane asked Sarah, who quickly pulled up the young woman's personnel file.

"According to her file, Fleet Admiral Rael'Zorah is her father," Sarah stated in shock while Jane whistled.

"Damn, no wonder she seems so nervous all the time. She has a family legacy to live up too, like us I guess," Jane stated before she turned to her brother. "Do you feel we should talk to her about it?"

"No, unless it affects the mission," John stated as he turned to his sister. "It would only serve to make her more nervous if we bring up such a topic as it could be sensitive to her."

"Right, we will talk to her when she feels ready, in the meantime, I will be doing my walkarounds. See you at dinner in a couple of hours?" Jane asked.

"We'll see, I may be busy with Lieutenant Commander Velanna," John stated.

Jane gave a small knowing smile before the two parted ways.

**Artemis Tau/Macedon/ _CSS Normandy_ /Deck 2**

**Human Date: February 9, 2183**

It was late in the ship night hours as a large group was gathered, having dinner or collecting food for others. Such as Dr. Chakwas who was making a second trip with two disposable trays of food. Chief Engineer Adams sitting with Tali noticed and jokingly asked the doctor, "So that makes four servings of pork barbecue with fries. You must love today's rations doctor."

Chakwas rolled her eyes in response when she stated, "If you must know, the food I picked up earlier was for my patients in the med bay since they are not allowed to leave. They are currently eating their portions while Anders is watching over them. Now, these two plates are for Joker and myself. I plan to join Joker on the bridge since he has difficulty leaving his seat.

"Also, please do not call these meals rations, for they're good compared to real rations. Those MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) packs I had to eat while working as a field doctor on the ground during the Skyllian Blitz were truly bland. Though the frozen and preserved fruit and vegetables are not that much better compared to the MREs," Chakwas added as she glared at the baked apples on her plate while Adam snorted in agreement.

"Yeah, nothing beats fresh fruit grown on hydroponic bays on our dreadnaughts and cruisers. It sometimes makes me miss being on them," Adams shrugged as Tali was handed a meal meant for quarians since her species has a dextro-amino based diet over the levo-amino based diet that most other species have.

"Well, you and Joker will have to be disappointed with the food we do have. Have a good day, Adams," Chakwas joked as she left with a tray in each hand while the ship's veteran engineer and young combat engineer picked up their silverware.

Tali was about to follow Adams when she heard people call for her. She turned around to see Leliana, Varric along with the ground team minus Captain John Sheppard and Lt. Commander Velanna O'Connell, to see one of them calling for her. Her commanding officer, Commander Jane Sheppard, "Hey Tali, you want to join us. It is a good way to get to know your team outside of live combat."

Tali, unsure turned to ask Adams if it was all right with quarian body language. To which Adams responded with a smile, "Go ahead, I have some reports to review alone in my office. So, go, join your friends."

Tali gave a million-watt smile before she practically climbed over the table to join her new dining companions, "Thank you."

"Speak nothing of it; you're now part of the team. Whether you like it or not," Jane jokingly added as she directed Tali to sit next to another newcomer, Garrus, that was grumbling, as he poked at his food.

Tali looked over, seeing it was similar food to her own, to ask, "Is everything all right."

Garrus looked up and gave a small smile as he took a bite, "Ah its fine, but as my teeth indicated, my species is geared to eating meat rather than silvers… I mean blues" Garrus emphasize with the blue leaf of a healthy salad from Rannoch before looking on Tali. "I hope the next time we stop by the Citadel or an actual port we pick up some dextro-ammino based meat."

"We'll see, but until that time I suggest you get used to a more quarian base diet of mostly dextro-based vegetables, fruit, grains and a small portion of meat," Jane told the young officer as he nodded.

"I'll try, but I make no guarantee. No offense Miss Tali'Zorah, but very few of us evolved on a planet that did not have an insectoid or similar based species," Garrus pointed out as he slowly ate his food.

"The evolution of the creators from Rannoch-Homeworld is quiet fascinating compared to other organic units," Legion-VII stated with a series of clicks. "As it led to a more efficient omnivore consumption of energy, and a weaken immunity defense mechanism as they evolved to be the Homeworld's plant pollination-units. Several evolution scientist-creators such as-" Legion-VII started off, but Ashely Williams interrupted to prevent Legion-VII synthetic mind from prattling on.

"Anyway, if you're having a problem eating vegetables, then I suggest you pick a bloody image and remember it. I am sure that as a turian and detective you probably had some experience with a bloody military operation or a gruesome homicide. My first live combat mission and the poor fool that took a grenade to the head. Only his torso was not burnt chunks scattered across the ground. I swear I couldn't touch meat for a week after that mission," Ashely stated as she soon found her vegetables and bread far more appealing than her roasted pork.

Garrus, however still longed-for meat as he stated, "Trust me, after investigating a case where an elcor delegate spent his off hours chopping people up to eat them, there is little I can imagine making me lose my stomach."

Wrex laughed as he ate a substantial varren steak and noted, "I know that feeling. During my years as a mercenary, I've learned not to be too picky about my food. Especially when I've been left on some rock after being shot down or betrayed by some idiot who didn't want to pay. (Heh) Oh, those were the days; I was able to get paid to serve salarians their own liver raw."

Kaidan stomach could not handle it anymore as he stated, "Can we switch the subject, please. I would like to actually eat my food, not see it all over this table."

The krogans of the group laughed as Jane turned her head to the two new cadets, "So, how is life among the stars treating you? I know it is radically different from what you've experienced."

"That's putting it mildly," Varric stated. "I went from being a merchant with ties to the Free Marches and beyond, to living in the greater galaxy with civilizations that make magic look like parlor tricks. I love it. The numbers of tales that I can tell just makes my head spin," Varric added with a smile.

"I also find it awe-inspiring, as though the Maker crafted these stars to be viewed by everyone," Leliana admitted with a smile as she took a nibble of her food before she looked at the entire group. "So, you all are elite soldiers, right? That is what you meant by Special Forces, right?"

"Yes, everyone here, but Garrus, who belongs to the Council, and Tali being a new recruit, are elite troops. Though Tali could apply for it after the Eden Prime mission and maybe can count the experience as on the job training," Jane stated as Tali looked up in hope as the others nodded their heads.

"But the rest of you are N forces along with Velanna, and you had to earn such position. So, I am curious, how did you become N forces?" Leliana asked.

The group was quiet before Legion-VII, who was standing outside the table to answer Leliana's question, "According to Confederation designated regulations, organic-units are required to stand out in one critical mission, while Geth-Units are built for such operations, and the various software units are recruited for N forces based on need."

"Built? Recruited?" Varric asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Geth are machines, and the best models are a combination of advanced hardware and high performing programs," Tali explained as the Geth glowing eye bobbed in agreement.

"Tali-Creator is correct; Geth models such as this unit are made from the top of the line hardware with a combined cost that equals a light frigate, or heavily armed corvette in comparison. As a result, only a few models are manufactured for command and specialized units. Therefore, Geth Legion Units are usually filled with software that has a high rate performance from various programs including engineering, internal repair, inputting, hacking, reconnaissance, gun combat, melee combat, demotion, sabotage, assassination-"

"And many more different programs to allow Geth to seem more sentient then they actually are," Tali added before Legion-VII listed all one-hundred and twelve different sets of programs.

"So, you're basically an army of proven units all rolled into one shiny metal creature," Varric pointed out, much to Legion-VII's apparent discomfort.

"Crude analogy Varric-cadet, but in context, eighty percent arcuate," Legion-VII stated as fact, which made Varric wonder how he was twenty percent off.

While Leliana got back on topic with her thick accent, "That is fascinating, but what about the rest of you."

"Well for me, I led the charge to push some pirate off Elysium. If you want the details, you have to ask my brother as he led the operation," Jane stated with a shrug. "As for the N7 rank that is a touchy subject for both me and my brother, so best leave it be."

Seeing the others that had been on the _Normandy_ nodded in agreement when Leliana turn to the others in the room, "And the rest of you?"

The room was quiet until Ashely Williams stated, "Well for me, I was pushed into the N program due to an unintended rescue operation on the planet Chole, in the Cacus system out in the Hades Gamma cluster. A medical facility owned by the creators of the medi-gel, the Sirta Foundation, was taken over by a crazy cult of mages that believed fussing with demons was the next step in evolution. They planned to open rifts into the Fade and force a variety of demons into twenty or so scientists they used as meat shields thanks to illusions-based abilities and drugs.

"My unit was on the planet to protect a small mining and production colony when we got the call to scout out the site. We performed reconnaissance and realized what the mages were doing. Understanding that the squad sent to free them would not make it in time, I made the call to stop them before it was too late. With the best marksman I had, including myself, we set up to take out the majority of mages in the opening volley while the rest of my men eliminated the rest. Within five minutes, the facility was cleared, and all twenty scientists were saved. I was given a few medals for my quick thinking, and we were all allowed into the N program. I was the only one that went up to N6."

"That is impressive, I am kind of surprised you weren't assigned to a Special Forces unit instead of a standard marine unit," Jane stated, as Ashely looked nervous.

"I did get an offer, but it didn't feel right since I was the only one given the offer in my unit. It felt more like a handout then praising my skills. So, I stuck with the 212th on the promise I could make them the best unit, and they were on Eden Prime," Ashely added softly as she bowed, in remembrance.

"To the fallen," Jane said softly as she raised her drink, and the others follow suit.

"To the fallen," before they took a minor sip and sat in silence for those that have died. Kaidan took over the narrative to tell his story of how he got into N Special Forces.

"You know, it is actually kind of ironic that you mentioned the Hades Gamma cluster, for it was there where I got my own commission into the N Forces. I was assigned to a rescue team on a luxury liner known as the _MSV Ontario_ in the Faritana system. A group of desperate biotics had taken the ship hostage in order to kidnap Chairman Burners, who gave a narrow vote against reparations for L2s."

"Reparations for L2s?" Leliana asked as many nodded in acknowledgment.

"L2s are biotic implants started as a Human System Alliance initiative to improve the L1 implants and allow biotics to match mages equipped with the P3 mage implants. All was accomplished through a new procedure, placement, and focus on power to give biotics a boost to keep up," Kaidan explained to the young woman. "And speaking from experience, they are definitely more powerful than both current P3 and L3 implants, but they had severe side effects. I was one of the lucky ones that suffer only the occasional headaches from the encounter. Every now and then, I have migraines that require Doctor Chakwas's treatments.

"Others, however, suffer constantly from debilitating headaches or spasms and they require constant medical aid. Their problems were made much worst since there is no way to remove L2 implants. The L2s, unlike the safer L3s and L4s biotic implants most Confederation personal use, are interchangeable like all other L models and the P model's mages use and thus can be removed or upgraded. Moreover, unlike the safer models outside of the L1s and P1s, the Alliance and later the Confederation required, for a time, all Biotics to use L2 implants. Especially those that came from the Biotic Acclamation program. So, we had thousands given an implant that caused severe neurologic damage and could not be removed thanks to the Human Alliance, and through them the Confederation."

"So, it was personal for you," Varric asked, and Kaidan nodded in admittance.

"In a way, yes but my Commander had faith in me, and I did not let him down," Kaidan admitted before we got back to the discussion. "I led the team that space jumped from _CSS_ _Somme_ , one of the ships surrounding the luxury _MSV Ontario_ , and forced our way through unattended space doors. From there, we silently made our way, knocking out any L2 as we made our way to a ballroom, were most of the hostages were held. We made our way in when the leader of the group threatens to kill the hostages when he realized he was outnumbered, so we kept our distance as we tried to talk them down.

"We were not making any progress until one scared politician talked to them directly. For on the floor was Burns, on his knees in fear, but he wasn't begging for his life like I thought he would be. He was instead trying to talk them down. Saying he saw now that he was wrong to vote for reparations and he promised to change things. I will admit I was skeptical too, but I used his words to talk them down, pointing out that it only made things worse if they actually killed someone."

"They didn't kill anyone?" Varric asked in total surprise.

"They were not evil people or thugs looking for a quick credit. They were just desperate people driven to desperate means," Kaidan explained before he continued the story. "Anyway, I continued to negotiate with them, pointing out I was an L2. That I understood, and so did Burns now. I made the argument he would actually make sure other L2s would get the reparations, and Burns sold it by promising about how reparations would come. They quickly surrendered, and since no one died, I was pushed into the N program and into the First Battalion with this ship being my first post."

The other nodded in awe while Varric asked, "And did Burns actually do as he promised, or did he burn them, as you people say?"

Kaidan surprised how quickly Varric adapted to human English communication mannerism, practically smiled in response, "Mr. Burns kept his word and made sure the reparations were given to L2s. He even moved to have the L2s that took the ship hostage to get a reduced sentence of ten years, instead of twenty to fifty for hijacking a ship."

The group was in awe of the fact that a politician kept his word, turned to Trex as he was leaning back in his chair. "What… oh, I see it's my turn right?" Trex noted righting himself, with a hand on his patched-together helmet.

"Well yes, but I am actually more curious about your helmet. You seem to take it everywhere, so I was wondering why it is so important to you?" Leliana asked, curious why Trex carried his helmet everywhere, even in the shower.

Trex was not offended by the question as he laughed, "Ah, well the reason I carry my lucky helmet everywhere is the same reason I got initiated into the Special Forces. You see on a small forgotten mining colony in the Hades Gamma cluster, yes that same fucken mess of a cluster. Why anyone attacks there, I have no idea. Amway, an insane, pyromaniac batarian named Berrak had sent a shipment of four bombs. Bombs that needed to be disarmed by someone trained to make the explosives inert before chemically sealing them. And you can guess who went on such a dangerous mission, me and two other krogans who were the only demolition men in the entire cluster.

"We soon arrived on the site and began to disarm the bodies with our trusty bomb disposal kits, and armor with the accompanying helmet. At the time, I did not see the point, but I was a rookie, so I did not question my superior orders. Unlike my friend Trask who refused to wear one and he tried to encourage others to follow his lead. That proved to be a mistake as a Berrak bobby trap caused the explosives to fire off acid to anyone tinkering with or disarming the explosives. Trask suffered an agonizing death while I was safe thanks to my helmet."

"Oh my, I am sorry about the loss of your friend," Leliana stated as Wrex shrugged in response.

"Don't be, he was an ass," Wrex stated as he took a drink. "Anyway, after I disarmed my bomb, I went to go disable Trask's as well in record time while the other krogan, Crask, took care of bomb number three. That left the final and largest bomb to disarm, and we hesitated at first. As we were both aware that our helmets would probably fail if we were hit by acid again, and we were not sure if we had time to disarm the trap if it was possible. Therefore, after we both flinched, I made the decision to start the process, and if I was somehow killed, then Crask could disarm it for me.

"I moved the panel only to set off Berrak's trap, an inferno grenade that we both took an explosive to the face. Crask's face was burned off after his helmet failed him. While the cracks in my helmet allowed enough hot fire to burn my face and produce the lovely scars you see on me now," Trex pointed to noticeable burn marks on his face.

"It would have been more, but thanks to sheer luck, my helmet held long enough to take the brunt of the explosion. That saved my life as I crawled through the rubble to disarm the last explosive. I quickly disarmed it and saved the colony. After I was rescued, I collected my helmet and had it rebuilt as a sign of my good luck. And it has served me well over the years on various missions as an elite krogan demolitionist as I went into the Special Forces and later the First Battalion," Trex stated with a smile as he longingly fondled his helmet.

The group looked at Trex with surprised when Ashely asked, "Did you catch the sun of a bitch that burned your face."

Trex stopped petting his helmet as he growled, "No, and he will be a pain in my backside for the years to come."

Seeing that it was a sensitive subject, Tali switched topics, not realizing she was heading into another, "What about Velanna? How did she get into the Special Forces?"

The others, not knowing much of the shy woman, looked at Jane for answers that she struggled to give. "That is a difficult subject. She got her first notice helping persuade some bigwig warlord named Darrius in the Plutus System, located in the Hades Gamma cluster… again… I guess it was a very busy cluster. However, what pushed her immediate into N forces was when her unit joined with my brother sent to invade Torfan… and manage to survive the mission."

"Torfan, the headquarters of the pirates and slavers funded by the _Batarians_ ," Ashely stated as she practically snarled at batarians.

"Yes," Jane hesitated before she continued soberly, "I don't know exactly what happened, but from the stories I've heard, it was a horrific place with war crimes so severe that if the public ever knew, the war would never end. I think it is why Velanna and my brother are so close, as two souls that just needed someone to get over what happened, and what they had to do in the end."

Jane allowed for a moment of silence before she got back into her more cheerful self as she clapped to state, "Well I think that is enough about that, I had best be going to finish up a report. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Jane quickly took her to leave, putting up her dishes as the rest finished their meals and put their dishes away. Meanwhile, she wondered where the Captain was and what he was planning, unaware that he was in his quarters, enjoying a moment of silence with Velanna. The two laid on the couch, happy the voices of the dead could not stop them from enjoying each other.

**Artemis Tau/Sparta/Edolus/ _CSS Normandy_**

**Human Date: February 12, 2183**

It had been three days since the _CSS Normandy_ had arrived into the Artemis Tau cluster and reached high orbit with Captain John Sheppard, and Commander Jane Sheppard looking over Joker's shoulder, waiting for a status report. "Any sign of the marines Rear Admiral Kahoku has us looking for?"

"No ma'am, but I am detecting a distress beacon, along with a lot of metal fragments close by. They could have crashed on the planet,"

"Scanning the area reveals no life signs, but the signature is erratic so getting a clear scan is difficult, to say the least," Cortana stated as she took a scan of the planet with the distress signal highlighted. It soon flashed red indicating something on the other side of the planet. "I am detecting movement in this area that suggests heavy equipment around a focal area. Possibly a base of some kind."

"Are there any military bases in this cluster?" John asked.

"None that are supposed to exist and I don't think it's a government sanction one judging by the old class of ships I am detecting from ion trails. It is likely a pirate base sir," Cortana stated.

"Could these pirates have shot down the ship the marines were on?" Jane asked, and Cortana paused before giving the two an answer.

"That, I don't know, as I cannot get a good reading on the base, but I don't think so. They need a lot of ships or something very powerful to take down a Terran class Frigate."

"Okay, sounds like we have a rescue, recovery, investigation, and a search and destroy mission all rolled into one," Jane stated, as she looked over the two data points before turning to her brother. "How do you want to handle this brother?"

"We will split up and take care of both areas at the same time with our vehicles ten clicks (km) from each target. I will handle the pirates, and gather any information I can get about their activities. You, Commander, will secure the site with the beacons to gather evidence, and rescue any survivors, assuming there are any."

"Alright then, since you'll be heading into heavy combat, are you going to take the heavily armed and heavily shielded Mako over the less powerful, paper thin Hammerhead? Or do you still want speed over sheer firepower?" Jane asked as John groaned in response, as he was a fan of the Hammerhead over the Mako.

"I'll take the faster and more maneuverable Hammerhead, over the slower and sluggish Mako," John stated as his sister stuck out her tongue in response as they both departed to arm themselves and picked their teams for ground combat.

**Artemis Tau/Sparta/Edolus: 3km from the Ground**

**Human Date: February 12, 2183**

Edolus, a barren desert world with whirling silicate grit was an inhospitable ball of dirt and rock, to say the least. A miserable place without any trace of vegetation and a few mountains or volcanoes existed, and on which even with a high oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere that a space suit with a helmet was required to survive. Therefore, John's team, made up of Velanna, Kaidan, Trex, Wrex, and Leliana were in full armor, a new experience for Leliana in her Alliance issue armor painted to match her leather armor of black, brown, and red with a cross on the chest. However, it was not the only new experience as she sat in the M-44B Hammerhead for the first time.

The Hammerhead tank was a unique vehicle, with a body similar to an M-35B Mako with a large turret on top. However, while the Mako was a moderately armored six-wheel vehicle, the Hammerhead was a light hover tank designed for speed over firepower and armor. With its three hover jets aft of the tank, and two others attached to arms on each side. Along with mini-thruster on each side of the hover jet, and along the aft four-point tail wings for improved speed and maneuverability.

Along with a list of sub-system components and specs that went over Leliana's head as she focused on the fact they were going to be airdropped from the _CSS Normandy_. Leliana gripped onto the handle harder, as Joker over the intercom stated they were heading to the second drop point after dropping the Mako with Jane's team. Now it was soon to be their turn as they came close. Kaidan, seeing Leliana so nervous, asked, "Nervous?"

"A bit," Leliana admitted.

"Don't worry, the Hammerhead actually makes a softer landing compared to the Mako, and no one has ever been hurt from an air drop from both vehicles when secured in these seats. So, you and your friends will be fine," Kaidan explained with a comforting smile.

"It's better than okay, they get the thrilling ride over this boring drop," Wrex laughed as he stretched his neck muscles. "In fact, if it weren't for the promise of live combat, I would be in the Mako instead of this paper-thin craft."

"I'll drink to that if I had a drink to drink," Trex laughed in response.

"Cut it off you two, we are about to make the drop. Joker, we're ready," John stated as he prepared the Hammerhead engines for the go.

And the go was green when Joker stated over the intercom, " _We are over drop point two. Happy hunting_ ," Joker had added as John went full thrust out of the cloaked Normandy out into the open sandy fields of Edolus.

Leliana was screaming bloody murder as her whole body surged with adrenaline as they began free falling in the air. She felt like she could float out of her chair until she heard the roar of the turbo-jets become flaming boosters. Her screams soon turned to laughter as they slowly descended to the ground. They landed a meter off the ground as the tank shot forward towards their target. She was experiencing a real-life sensation of a roller-coaster ride as she gave a yelp of joy, "By the Maker that was exhilarating! Can we do it again?"

The ground team either laughed or smirked as Wrex, "Oh kid, I think you'll work out just fine," as the Hammerhead went at the full thrust of 240km/hr to reach the outskirts of the pirate base with the _Normandy_ overhead, waiting for targets.

The team was soon over the ridge of one of the few mountains on the planet with properties that made the small valley base that would be a challenge to detect. John's optical helmet glass tied to his omni-tool magnified the various men and woman in armor moving about the colony and building turned bunker. Looking at their armor for any indications of their identity, it was not long before the omni-tool blinked a list of personal wanted for piracy, along with their bounties ready to collect.

Both the Confederation and the Council has set aside bounties for wanted criminals to be paid as soon as possible. That is why various bounty hunters and military personnel install the omni-tool app so they can send a digital photo and confirmation of death or capture when a pirate, slaver, murder or someone else wanted was killed or delivered to the Confederation or the Citadel. It is a significant benefit to those having to fight and kill criminals. Especially military personal close to a warship or a military base as they get paid for bounties on the spot thanks to the obviously popular system.

It also confirmed they were indeed pirates as John began taking note of the base's defenses, starting with the two watchtowers at the mountain valley's entrance. Along with two missiles/gun turrets defending the front of the base while behind the held another watchtower with a landing field with two corvettes and six fighters. Combined with several pirates equipped with missile launchers and high-power sniper rifles made it one of the more heavily armored groups for a minor pirate operation.

Somewhat of a threat, they were overall not that dangerous to them or even a frigate as Kaidan noted. "Captain, with the number of ships and firepower here, there is no way they could take down a frigate, especially one designed to destroy a heavier class of warships on its own or in a pack."

"Maybe… there are other bases or operations in the system, or even in the cluster. They could have heavier firepower elsewhere," Velanna pointed out with her soft voice.

"All the more reason to hit the base to find out if there is a bigger operation or not," John stated before he gave out orders in person, and over the comm. "Everyone, back into the Hammerhead. _Normandy,_ target the two corvettes, fighters, and the remaining defense and watchtowers turrets in that order. We're going to initiate combat operations soon."

" _Roger Captain. We are beginning attack runs. All hands go to red alert, and battle stations_ ," Pressly ordered as the group quickly got into the tank.

The engine of the Hammerhead soon hummed as they slowly approach the ridge's edge when a tremendous roar was herd. The pirates looked up when the _Normandy_ decloaked and opened fire with torpedoes onto the airfield. Explosions spread across the field as the spacecraft, with their shields turned off, could not handle the onslaught from the heavy frigate. The pirates were panicking when the Hammerhead made its appearance known. The Hammerhead road over the hill and rushed down as its main gun fired onto one of the gun turrets with machinegun fire. The turret's shield began to fail when its computer locked on and fired its unique, limited ammunition required for a tank design for hit and run missions, homing missiles. Two missiles soared from the Hammerhead's gun turret and hit the unshielded turret for an instant kill as the Hammerhead passed it burning wreckage.

The surviving turret tried to get a missile lock on the fast-moving tank when it was destroyed by the _Normandy_ with the laser turrets on the ship's side. The ship also destroyed one of the three watchtowers with a torpedo, while the Hammerhead destroyed the second one as it did a pass. Its bullets clearing the area nearby and in the tower before two missiles hit a support beam toppling the whole tower. The final tower was destroyed by a cloaking _Normandy_ as the tank began to maul everyone outside with its machinegun turrets. The pirates did not even have time to weaken the tanks shields before they were all mowed down by the Hammerhead.

Once the field was cleared, the _Normandy_ flew back into high orbit as the Hammerhead halted at the pirate base. The ground crew soon got out with Leliana being the last, who was shaking and wobbling a bit from the g-forces suffered during the high speed, brutal fight. "That was not as fun as the airdrop," Leliana stammered as she returned to a stable equilibrium as Trex laughed.

"Oh, you get used to it, but that was not bad for a first-time rookie. I bet you'll be a pro when you get to drive the Hammerhead yourself," Trex stated as he helped Leliana straighten up.

"And that will only happen if you transfer to another squad, or if either Captain or Commander Sheppard is in the hospital," Velanna mumbled before she blushed as she realized she said that aloud.

John internally smirked at Velanna's blush as he held up his omni-tool wirelessly connected to the tank's life sensors. He looked over the data before ordering everyone to be quiet, "The tank's life detector has picked up two dozen life signs in that building, and it looks like a portion is coming to greet us. Get into position and cover us."

"Good, will get some old fashion action soon," Wrex smiled as he pulled out his trusty shotgun as the doors into the base opened and a dozen pirates rushed out.

They did not stand a chance as John's team began to open fire as they rushed into the base.

**Artemis Tau/Sparta/Edolus: Near the Distress Beacon**

**Human Date: February 12, 2183**

Meanwhile, as John's team fought into the pirate's base, Jane's team in the Mako had finally arrived where the Beacon was transmitting. It was a more extended trip as the Mako's turbo top speed was 60km/hr slower than the Hammerhead and Jane was cruising to the site rather than racing to her destination. She wanted to approach the site cautiously as her team was on the lookout for traps, and odd knickknacks she marked on the map for a closer look, or for quick cash like a mineral bounty for locating unique mining resources for the Confederation.

After a few stops and a relatively easy trip, they soon reached what appeared to be the wreckage of the Confederate frigate torn to pieces. Ashely gave a soft whistle as she asked, "What could have done that?"

"I don't know, but we need to find out," Jane stated as she prepares the tank to move in before she looked at two of her passengers. "Are you alright Varric? Tali?"

Varric who was in a golden brown, medium type armor was finishing putting his helmet back on as he quickly threw a barf bag into the waste disposal. His first trip down on the Mako was a lot rougher than Leliana's since the thrusters that slow Mako's descent was not as powerful as the Hammerhead's, making its landing more like crashing into the ground. Varric was lucky to get his helmet off before he barfs into bags provided for newbies like him. Tali was also a little green around the face, but she did not throw up thanks to her simulation training in optional classes offered at boot camp. Something her father insisted she had to take.

Tali thanked her ancestors for that as Varric answered, "I've seen better. Never have been what is it you say, airdropped before. And I hope I never have to be again."

"Don't worry, it will get easier, and it will be smoother from now on. The ride is a lot less bumpy than the Hammerhead, especially in combat," Jane stated as her hands gripped the steering wheel. "Alright, keep your eyes open. Garrus, handle the main guns, Ashely the side lasers, and Legion-VII the sensors. The rest of you keep your eyes open. We'll approach the beacon and look for survivors at the same time. Let us just hope there are people we can save."

The group acknowledged as the Mako eased up in sight, passing wreckage torn asunder. Finding almost no sign of the CAW marines, until they got closer to the distress beacon, they saw bodies, all around the burning wreckage of what appeared to be another Mako torn in half. As well as two ND-1A Nomads, faster scout version of Mako with only a gun turret instead of a cannon. The broken and torn apart bodies were a sight that Jane found all too familiar that she could not quite place. It was only a remark from Ashely that the wreckage looked like an animal had bitten off a large chunk, and Legion-VII noted the large concentration of acid in the remains that she realized what had happened.

"Ah crap! Thresher maw!" Jane yelled before she pushed the pedal to the metal.

The crew almost screamed as an armored skin, thirty-meter long worm burst from the ground in front of the Mako. Its giant maw opens wide as Jane turned hard right, and activated the Mako's thrusters to side jump away from the thresher maw's giant mouth. The wheels skirted as the Mako was swerving as fast as it could while Jane was yelling at Garrus and Ashely to open fire. The two quickly responded with Garrus fired the Mako's machinegun nonstop at the thresher maw's head with heavy shells while Ashely aimed along its undersection between its centipede-like legs with the tank's cutting laser.

Both caused the beast extreme pain as it fired off acid shots that Jane avoided before it closed its mouth and quickly burrowed into the ground to chase after the Mako that was now in full retreat. Jane did not want to be in what she realized was its nest and was keeping ahead of the beast that Legion tracked through seismic reading feed into the vehicle's sensors. It was not long before Jane curve and perform a U-turn when she saw the creature wavering in its chase.

"Hold on, we're going to try to force it back up to Ash and Garrus to keep on hammering it," Jane growled as the Mako went full speed towards the thresher maw.

The worm regained interest as it moved towards the Mako and jumped up like a shark in water in an attempt to grab the craft before Jane swerved out of the way. Garrus and Ashely did not need permission to keep on firing on the thresher maw's spiky body as it went back underground. Blue blood splattered along the sands from the multiple open wounds it had across its body. Sadly, it was not enough to deter it as it remerged to spit acid at the Mako. The Mako avoided the acid as Jane began running in circles around the thresher maw while Ashely Williams and Garrus kept firing into its body.

Blood began to pour out as the thresher maw kept lunging at the Mako with its large mouth and extended tongue before it tried something clever. It unfolded its long pointing legs on the side to try to cut into the Mako like a praying mantis lunging with sharp claws. Its arms were long enough and fast enough to almost succeed in catching its prey if it had not bounced off the Mako's strong shields despite a considerable drain.

The thresher maw refused to be deterred as it lunged again only for Ashely to fire on the legs with the Mako's laser, cutting it off. The thresher maw reared back in pain as Garrus kept peppering its body, causing it to bleed profusely until one final cannon blast proved to be enough. Exhausted with severe blood loss, the thresher maw waved back and forth until it came crashing down to the ground. The thresher maw gave one last shuttering roar before it lay motionless on the ground, dead from its extensive wounds.

Jane breathed a sigh of relief before she turned back to the wreckage, ordering everyone out to examine the site for clues. It was only when they were out of the Mako that Varric took one look at the mighty beast before asking, "What in the Stones was that?"

"That was organic-threat known as a thresher maw-unit," Legion-VII answered as it scanned the terrain. "A subterranean carnivore organic species that is native to several worlds, including Tuchanka, the krogan-units homeworld. The species are distributed across the galaxy through their spores that can survive the vacuum of space and reentry through the atmosphere. Once on a planet, the units live underground and remain underground for centuries. Using the nutrients found in the soil and rocks around them to grow into the threats observed in the battle these units just participated in."

"That is why vehicles are general inspected and cleaned thoroughly before entering any spaceport, to prevent a thresher maw from being born on a populated planet," Tali added as if it was stated by heart.

One Ashely nodded before her curiosity peaked as she turned to Jane to ask, "Ma'am, how did you know a thresher maw was here?"

Jane sighed before stating, "I knew because I once killed a thresher maw on foot, which is what pushed me in the N7 program."

Ashely Williams and the others eyes widen in shock as she stammered, "You killed a thresher maw on foot? Amazing. I heard that a lot of krogans die in the Right of Passage when trying to survive against a thresher maw for ten minutes, and you killed one."

"With the help of my surviving squad members, yes, I killed the fucker that ambushed us," Jane scolded as she remembered the screaming of her mem and the sound of gunfire. She waved it off before stating, "Which brings me to a new inquiry about the crash site. How does a recon squad trained to avoid thresher maws wind up in the nest of one?"

"Maybe it has to do with how the distress beacon was set," Garrus stated as he pointed to a perfectly intact beacon with a dish on top. "Or am I the only one that finds it strange that the thresher maw did not even touch it."

The rest of the squad turned and saw the beacon still giving out a signal as the group slowly approaching it. Omni-tools out as they scanned the immediate area, with unique results as Legion-VII reported, "Sheppard-Commander, spectral analysis detect unique chemical makeup that seemed design as a repellent. Possibly for the thresher maw-unit. In addition, this unit is also picking up radio signals that may also serve as a repellent as well."

"I see. What about the distress beacon itself?" Jane asked as Tali analyzed it.

"Despite its internal components, I have to say its frame is an older Human System Alliance model before the Confederation. You can tell by the marking if you look," Tali stated as she pointed to markings.

Unlike the current Confederation Navy that used a rounded delta with a circular orbit around it, the delta on the distress beacon was more angular with stars shooting from its end. It is closer to the Confederation flag, only for the fact the Human System Alliance's symbol was put in the Confederation's flag that includes the other three members as well. That meant that it was probably salvaged from a retired Alliance warship, which anyone could get his or her hands on.

However, the clue on who set the beacon was revealed when Ashely Williams and Garrus found a small transceiver and jammer in a box laying on the beacon. A box with an odd symbol on it; a long, black thin hexagon with a curved golden line found on its left and right sides. "What is that? Some kind of pirate or gang symbol?" Garrus asked as his training took over, and he took pictures of not only the box but also the symbol on it.

"I don't know, but I am going to get John on the comms and relay everything we've found before we look for the flight recorder and the marine's crew logs," Jane stated as she relayed what had happened, and the odd symbol they had discovered. It would be later they find out that Admiral Kahokou's fears were well-founded for it was Cerberus that set them up.

**Artemis Tau/Sparta/Edolus: Pirate Base**

**Human Date: February 12, 2183**

Meanwhile, at the pirate base, John and his team had cleared out the base floor. They were moving up to the higher levels to face the potential boss, like a boss in a video game when he received a call from his sister. Getting on his comms, he was informed about everything from the site including it was a trap to lure the marines into a thresher maw nest, and that they had been able to kill it.

" _Were now retrieving the flight recorder and crew logs for confirmation of foul play, but we have no evidence who exactly did it outside of the weird symbol I forwarded to you. Cortana is looking through her databanks for a match_ ," Jane stated as John watched his team stand watch over the dead pirates. " _Could it be the pirates you're attacking?_ "

"No, as their symbol is just a generic pirate symbol without a hexagon symbol on it. Not to mention from what we've seen, there is no way these pirates have the technical know how to keep their own equipment in working order. Let alone set up a trap for a Confederation frigate," John stated as he looked down the hallway. "They must have some powerful friends. We'll find out when we break into their databanks."

" _Not going to take any prisoners bro_?" Jane asked.

"They are not only pirates, but we found evidence they are also slavers. I am not in the mood to take prisoners, Commander," John stated as he looked across towards the hallway. "I should go. The pirate boss is not going to die on his own."

" _Take care_ ," Jane stated before she turned her comms off, ending the conversation between the two.

It was in that silence that Wrex laughed, "So the girl fought another thresher maw. Damn, and I thought her mission was going to be boring."

"Regret coming with us?" John asked, and Wrex just chuckled again.

"Depends on if the son of a bitch in charge of these pirates is worth a good fight," Wrex grumbled as he prepared his shotgun.

"Well find out," John stated as they approached a door lined with explosives set by Trex. "Ready to move in?"

The group nodded as Velanna stated with conviction, "Ready to end these slavers."

"Then light it up," John ordered as Trex pressed a command on his omni-tool and the explosives on the door detonated.

The group then rushed in to find a biotic bubble held up by a blue-faced Asari in high quality, black and red asari commando armor. Her steely grey eyes staring at the newcomers as her hand twitched while handling the purple pistol of an asari SMG pistol model called Bishop. Her dark tips on her scalp flared when she snarled at the men and woman that had killed her men.

"So, my sister sent you to kill me," the asari criminal with no name outside of aliases stated with anger. "I knew that bitch would eventually just fuck-it and kill me. I don't know how she got the Confederation to do her dirty work for her, but I am going to make you work for it."

That was all she said before she dropped her biotic barrier to launch a biotic flare at close quarters. Creating a massive biotic explosion that would knock them off their feet. The power took out Wrex and Trex's weak shields while taking a good chunk of the other's kinetic barriers as well. The asari, just barely outside of the blast, decided it was the best time to rush them with her SMG and as she fired off a biotic warp. She opened fire on Velanna and sent a biotic warp into Trex. Trex grunted as he slammed into the wall with his armor taking the brunt of the damage. While Velanna's shield was being whittled down to the red.

However, she would not fall as she used her mage healing ability to regenerate her shield while hitting the asari's kinetic barriers with a vine whip. The pirate grunted and began to move as the others recovered and opened fire on her with their weapons or their own biotics. Velanna avoided the three warp fields as she jumped to a lower level. However, she did not notice a hex put on her by Velanna as dark particle resembling leaches attached to her armor, draining her shields to the red quickly.

The asari turned to see Kaidan jump down to confront her. First, he hit the asari with an overload strike using his omni-tool to finish off her shields. Then, he began to power up the second strike with a powerful biotic push. He was winding up the pitch to throw his biotic push as the pirate responded with her own biotic push. Soon the high-power human biotic sentinels were locked in a power struggle with the asari biotic defender class. Crates began to float around the room as the two refused to give up when Leliana helped Kaidan with an arrow into the pirate's arm.

The pirate screamed and flinched long enough to break her concentration. Allowing Kaidan's overpowered biotic push to rush towards her and hit her at point-blank range. The force sent her flying into the wall behind her with enough force to break her neck, back, and ribs. It did not take an expert to confirm she was dead and the battle was over with no one worse for wear. Except for Kaidan, who was suffering a severe migraine until Velanna jumped over and used her powers to help relieve his pain.

John seeing everyone was okay, or going to be okay, ordered everyone to look around, "I want what that woman meant by her sister sending someone after her."

"I think I have something," Wrex grumbled as he looked over a computer as Trex took glee as he tore the place apart for hours he will have to spend to repair his armor. "Looks like our little pirate, Dahlia Dantius, had been blackmailing her sister, Nassana Dantius, an upcoming diplomate on the Citadel. She could find her career pushed back a few decades if not a century if it became knowledge her sister was a pirate and slaver. So, she was forced to push through Dahlia's application for Armali Council and Serrice Council licenses to purchase the best when it comes to asari equipment."

"Explain her Disciple SMG, biotic commando armor, and her Savant amp. It was fortunate she was only an above average biotic or we would have been in trouble" Kaidan stated as he took Dahila's amp implant and her pistol. The armor left for now as he held up the Serrice Council amp, asking silently if John wanted the best biotic and tech amp available on the market. An amp that is only matched by the mage's Industrial Light Inc. Angle and Demon amp in power and recharge speed.

John silently waved Kaidan to state it belongs to him as he said, "Well that may be interesting to use the next time we are on the Citadel. But it does not answer this question. Were they in any way responsible for the death of Rear Admiral's recon team?"

"Hm… nope," Wrex mentioned as stretch his neck. "The blue bitch did go on about a Confederation frigate that showed up a few weeks ago and had her men in hiding. It was only when she discovered they landed in a thresher maw nest they've been avoiding that they felt ready to get her men moving, and then we came and blew them up."

"Okay, Jane is getting the records together. So, let's gather everything we can before I make the call to the Rear Admiral."

**Artemis Tau/Sparta/Edolus: _CSS Normandy_**

**Human Date: February 12, 2183**

It has been a long day for both ground crews before they made it back to the ship and with Jane and John Sheppard in the war room. Both brother and sister were standing in front of the ship's Quantum Entanglement Communicators (QEC) as they put a call through to Rear Admiral Akamai Kahoku. It was not before the QEC instantaneous holographic communication came through, as he looked at the Captain in dress uniform and a Commander in an open uniform with a vest underneath.

"Captain, Commander, your message stated you made it to the Sparta system. Did you find my marines?"

"We did and were sorry to state that they're all dead. It looks like they landed in a thresher maw nest and were all killed," John stated with only a small amount of tack.

"A thresher maw! Are you sure! My men are too well trained to allow themselves to be complacent enough to land in a thresher maw's nest," the Admiral growled, causing John to backtrack when his sister came up to calm the Admiral down.

"They were lured there with a distress beacon. Someone set it up where the thresher maw would leave it alone but not anyone that came to investigate it," Jane stated as the Rear Admiral eyes widen in shock.

"I see, do you have any idea who did this to my men and was it a certain organization I know?" the Rear Admiral asked as he was looking to make those responsible would pay.

The two soldiers looked at each other before John nodded as silently ordered Cortana to forward all their information. "We did not know for sure who at first, but Cortana used her data banks to look at a symbol found on some equipment at the site. According to her, and assuming it was not planted, it is who you suspected to be responsible, Cerberus."

Rear Admiral Kahoku barely acknowledged the confirmation of what he suspected as he read the evidence. His anger was buried within as he had the evidence filed away when he turned to the tower officers. "If what you say is true, then we can truly say Cerberus has gone completely rogue. I will need to investigate this further and see if I can get more evidence on Cerberus. I may call for your services later if I need it. Can I count on you two to help me when required?"

"Of course, sir. Will do whatever you require us to do," Jane stated as John nodded in agreement.

"Then I leave you to your mission and contact you when I have more information. Stay safe out there, and remain vigilant," Rear Admiral Akamai Kahoku saluted before he ended the call.

The brother and sister looked at each other before they left the room as crew prepped the ship to hit the next set of systems, the Athens system, and the Knossos system as they continue to search for Dr. Liara T'Soni. Jane could not put the finger on it, but she felt they needed to hurry as the Normandy broke orbit and they headed to the Athenian system.

 **Artemis Tau/Knossos/** **Therum: Prothean Ruins Underground**

**Human Date: February 15, 2183**

Deep within a ruin were monsters crawling around as a young asari in a science outfit and suspended in a containment field. She could not move as she trembled in fear. Tears were falling as she called out, "Please, someone, anyone help me!" It will be some time before her pleas would be answered as a hero was coming to save her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year and glad I was able to get this out. I hope you all enjoy it. Also, I wonder if anyone remembers which Mass Effect missions are the ones used for Ashely, Kaidan, and Velanna’s past missions, as well as the final two missions despite some changes made here and there. If you know, leave a review, and I tell you if you are right or not. In addition, do not forget to send your love when you post a review and tell me if you like the game mechanics in MEI given an actual in-universe explanation.   
> In addition, as a reminder that updates will likely be slow until September of next year as I going for a Masters; your patience is much appreciated.   
> Author Notes  
> A) New Codex on Legion Model is found in Sentient Species section; go check it out, please.   
> B) Modified several sections including the Timeline and Ships and Vehicle sections.


	9. Asari Archeologist Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, though with how EA is threatening to destroy Bioware, I wish I did, along with the company itself. Maybe people should help them buy themselves out.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 08/31/2018

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Approaching Therum/ _CSS Normandy_**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

It has been over a week since the _CSS Normandy_ has been searching for Lira T'Soni, and they were headed to one of the least likely locations the asari could be. "According to records, Therum is a volcanic world rich in minerals, making it a prime target for mining despite its less than hospitable environment. I think even krogans would have a tough time adapting to the planet's extreme heat," Operations Chief Sarah Sinclair added before she continued her report. "Anyway, the planet was producing enough valuable minerals they were allowed to keep mining the planet even after all the prothean artifacts unearth across the cluster. That was until they unearthed their own prothean artifacts, and were forced to leave as the whole cluster was put under quarantine."

"Sir, should we make our presence known?" Lieutenant Commander Charles Pressly asked as a suggestion, but Captain John Shepard disagreed.

"Not yet. Keep the stealth system operational, I want to be closer in case our targets decide to run," John added, as he looked thoughtful before turning to Sarah to ask what was on her mind. "Have you picked up anything on the comms Operations Chief Sinclair?"

"No, but I was going to check again," Sarah stated before pulling up her omni-tool to listen for anything. At first, she heard nothing, as usual, but then she began to hear a distorted message. She then used her omni-tool to focus on the grabbled communication. "Captain, I am picking up gargled transmissions with what appears to be an S.O.S. I think someone is jamming all communications except shortwave ship-to-ship transmissions I am barely picking up."

Alarmed, John took a moment before ordering a sensor ping for which Pressly complied. The ping was a brief sensor scan traveling at light speed to give long-range images with minimal chance of detection by other units. As the ping would be background noise to the enemy's sensors, and thus something that could be ignored due to the amount of background noise a ship would receive. Not realizing they were also ignoring a scan from the Confederation ship in stealth mode as it received the results of the pulse scan twenty minutes later. It was not long before Cortana had her report.

"I am detecting five ships in orbit, one cruiser and four frigates of various old designs. There is also another frigate within the planet's atmosphere over what appears to be a mining site and a modified frigate that is possibly used to land troops. The ships are admitting a higher than average level of radiation, suggesting they are darkspawn ships."

"I don't suppose you are picking up anything that indicated any non-darkspawn targets?" John asked.

"Sorry sir, but we're just too far away with too much radiative interference and too little activity for me or the ship to tell if there is anything but darkspawn. We will need to enter low orbit, or within the planet's atmosphere to pick up individual Lifesigns," Cortana reported.

"Very well, get us close and quiet. When we arrive, find a nice location for the Hammerhead and Mako to be dropped off. Maybe we will get lucky, and this Lira T'Soni is still alive. If not, let's hope they left some information on her corpse," John added before turning and leaving the bridge to prep his soldiers.

At least that was the plan before a thought occurred as he turned to face Pressly, "Lieutenant Commander Pressly, you're in command. If you get the chance, clear the sky of all enemy ships. It will be a lot easier to leave without an enemy presence to prevent pickup."

"Aye sir, I'll get a battle plan ready and prepare the attack runs," Pressly saluted, as John acknowledged before turning his head. Leaving Pressly to issue out orders over the intercom, "This is Lieutenant Commander Pressly. To all ground teams, report to the hanger bay and prepare for an airdrop. To all other hands, battle stations, prepare for atmospheric and space combat!"

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Approaching Therum/ _CSS Normandy_ /Deck 3**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

In the medical bay of the _CSS Normandy_ sat Leliana, who was doing her daily get together with Merrill. Telling stories or reading new ones with access to the considerable databanks of thousands of years of different cultures. It was amazing how similar they are, almost as if a similar culture wrote the stories of mythology for another, as Merrill exclaimed, "So they had werewolves as well?"

"Indeed, though there's seems to be more myth depending on the group, with restrictions on transformations, and adding a list of weakness that I don't think a real werewolf in the stories I know has. I don't think they were as strong as they were in this book," Leliana stated as she held up a tablet with Élie Berthet's " _Best of Gévaudan_ ," the original folklore for the modern myth of werewolves. "I can't tell you how much easier it would be for the Dalish if all you needed to kill a werewolf is a blade of silver."

The two giggled as Leliana scooted over to ask, "How are you feeling Merrill?"

"Alright, I am feeling less fatigued now, and a bit more active," Merrill had stated before she began to speak longer, and with greater animation. "Like I can talk faster than Varric. To the point, I think he stated during a visit that he feels daisy may not be the best nickname anymore and may have to call me windy for some reason. For I don't see why, as I don't seem to be able to do any wind spells. Which is fine as I got some new powers and I'm ready to try them out when I get to go out in the field and out of this bed."

"I am sure that will be a sight to see," Leliana stated slowly, as her mind barely kept up with the hyperactive elf in bed. "So outside of Varric, everyone else has been treating you well?"

"Yep, though I think the Doctor is ready to kick me out for the number of times I bounce off the walls," Merrill stated with an enthusiastic nodded. "Sarah is so nice whenever she seems to visit Sten, and it is nice watching him murmuring instead of his normally grumpy pants routine."

"That's because only Sarah can show how much of a big softy he really is," Leliana giggled while Sten growled in annoyance.

"I am not a softy," he quietly mumbled, prompting Leliana to giggle and Merrill to give one of her million-watt smiles.

The two were about to comment about Sten's not denying he enjoys Sarah's presence when over the intercom Pressly's voice rang out, " _This is Lieutenant Commander Pressly. To all ground teams, report to the hanger bay and prepare for an airdrop. To all other hands, battle stations, prepare for atmospheric and space combat!_ "

"Another one, but we just got through a space battle," Anders wined as Leliana gave a small goodbye to Merrill before she left for Deck 5 Hanger Bay. "I'm still sick from the last time we were darting in and out of combat."

Doctor Chakwas, who was busy doing paperwork, was securing the patients within their beds, "It cannot be helped, this ship was designed for not only dropping off troops but also combat. Moreover, I suspect this will not be our last battle. So help me secure the patients and make sure you have your gravity boots active. The gravity generated by the Drive Core tends to be in flux in combat, and its only worst when Joker is flying us in and out of a planet's atmosphere."

Anders quickly complied by helping Merrill as he questioned his choices as he was mentally preparing himself for battle. At least there were some beauties on the ship as he gave a small smile before strapping himself down.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/ _CSS Normandy_ over the Mining Site Outskirts**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

Over the planet's surface, the _Normandy_ was making a run towards the surface. The stealth system was fully active along with a cloak that made it appear invisible. Deep within the bowels of the vessel, Captain John Shepard was looking at the latest information sent to him by Sarah as Jane was separating the ground team into two teams. Team 1, Captain John Shepard's team went to the M-44B Hammerhead, included Lieutenant Commander Velanna O'Connell, 2nd Lieutenant Legion-VII, 2nd Lieutenant Raik, Trex, Cadet Leliana, and Cadet Varric. Team 2, Commander Jane Shepard's team entered the M-35B Mako, included 1st Lieutenant Ashely Williams, 1st Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, Ensign Tali'Zorah, Supreme Commander Urdnot, Wrex, and Officer Garrus Vakarian.

The teams gathered in their respective vehicles as John briefed them on the mission, "Alright soldiers listen up as I'm not going to repeat myself. Lifeforms Sensors have detected a faint asari biosignature in an underground tunnel near an excavation site and, as far as we can tell, a deactivated survey ship. Considering there was only one other asari registered on the ship, and the darkspawn are not leaving, Doctor Lira T'Soni is probably still alive, and held up in the tunnels underground. Our mission is to retrieve her, if she is still alive, and gather any usable data possible. Am I clear?!"

"Yes, sir/Shepard/John!" replied the ground team in both vehicles.

"Good," John stated as he prepared himself for battle at the Hammerhead's control. "Alright, prepare for drop off. We are going to be a bit off the beaten path as the _Normandy_ avoids visual detection. The ship is going to need every advantage it can get."

" _We're at the drop point. Good luck you guys and fall in the lava, it is already hot enough as it is out there_ ," Joker mused over the intercoms.

Jane and John rolled their eyes along with the rest of the ground teams as they replied, "Roger, this is Hammerhead/Mako, heading out!" before the two went full speed out of the ship and airdropped to the surface below.

They had made a relatively soft landing as they watched the _Normandy_ reactivate its visual cloak and fly away to performed its mission while they moved to their objective.

"Commander we will commence standard One-Two Hammerhead and Mako Maneuvers," John ordered over the comms.

"Roger, following you from behind," Jane answered as the Hammerhead moved on ahead while the Mako followed by at least a dozen meters.

As they were moving into place, Tali looked up to ask, "What is the One-Two Hammerhead and Mako Maneuvers?"

"It's a type of maneuver taught in courses for those wishing to get a license to drive any ground vehicle," Kaidan noted with a raised brow under his helmet. "The strategy basically goes like this, the Hammerhead would scout ahead and perform the first strike, while the Mako follows up to protect the Hammerhead's rear and finish off a target."

"A strategy that takes advantage of the Hammerhead maneuverability and speed to distract the enemy while the more powerful Mako goes in for the kill, clever tactic," Garrus commented as his Turian's training as a soldier his people required to go through at the age of fifteen went into overdrive.

"It is very effective, even if it does put a lot of risk on the Hammerhead. It can't take as many hits as the Mako can," Ashely stated as she prepped the tank's guns for battle.

It did not take long as the Hammerhead and Mako's sensors began to pick up a mass number of targets. "John, this Jane, my sensor is picking activity up ahead. Do you have visual?"

"Yes, I have a visual of our targets, two ogres and what appears to be a basher with supporting darkspawn around it and on top. Moving to engage, follow up and hit the basher with everything you have."

"Roger that bro, Jane out," the Commander acknowledge as she put the tank into turbo mode.

The Mako sped across at speeds that without a mass effect field to generate counter gravitational forces, the occupants would have zero ability to move with the number of G-forces they would be encountering. As it was, it was enough to feel jarring under Jane's insane driving as they came upon the engaged darkspawn forces. Captain Shepard was leaving his mark as some of the smaller darkspawn lay on the ground with enough large holes in them to mutilate the corpse as the Hammerhead made a drive bypass. The two ogres gave chase in a futile attempt to catch the hover tank with their heavy cannons, leaving the screaming basher wide open.

A basher is a massive darkspawn that resembles a nightmarish version of an elcor with a skull face. An intimidating hulking beast that was deadly with its two adjustable cannons perched atop back. Operated by a small team of darkspawn with some equipped with particle beam heavy weapons that fire a stream of bullets that can quickly drain and cut through shields, armors, and flesh with shields and armor being the optional order. They were prime targets along with the cannons when the Mako opened fire with its main barrel.

The hit caused a fiery explosion on the basher's back as it roared out in pain as some of the perched darkspawn were knocked off, dead before they hit the ground. The beast roared as it bit down on the muzzled trigger attached to the two damaged cannons on it back. Damaged, but they were still operable, as the beast fired at the Mako tank that was swerving back and forth across the battlefield. Its machine gun firing at the monster's back. They were doing even more damage to the cannons while hitting any darkspawn that moved in the open to fire on Jane's tank.

The darkspawn, seeing or sensing the basher was in trouble, turned to face the new threats but it turned out to be a huge mistake. As the darkspawn ground forces were burned as the Mako's laser side turrets fired whenever they had a clear target. A contingent of darkspawn troops that were rushing forward was falling in droves, while the forward limbs of the Basher had long scorch marks across its legs. The two ogres were the only ones that could survive a direct hit but made the mistake of turning around instead of trying to finish the Hammerhead.

John had no problem exploiting a foolish turn as he turned the Hammerhead around and fired four missiles now he was given time to aim rather than evade. The missiles aim was spot on as the two ogres were killed in the explosion as they fell to the ground, dead. John had won the battle and was waiting for Jane to finish hers. It would not be long as the Basher could only make glancing shots with its cannons and the Mako never missed a shot. Two more cannon shells were enough to destroy one of the cannons while a third took out the other. A barrage of Mako's bullets and the cannons exploded finishing off the rest of the darkspawn on its back, leaving the basher without any firepower.

However, the basher was not defenseless as one of it forward limbs bleeding from its semi-cauterized wounds rose up to reveal bulking hands. It then quickly reached out and grabbed a giant rock covered in dirt before hurdling it at the Mako. The Mako avoided it, but its shields still flared as the rock exploded next to it with enough force to act as slow, but heavy, bullet. That did not stop the Mako from keeping up the amount of heavy fire on the darkspawn, but the darkspawn saw a winning tactic and kept throwing what it could. It was enough to lower the Mako's shields to 50% before a Mako cannon round hit it. The basher's head exploded, and the force flung it to its back.

The battle was over for the moment, and the Mako was taking a pit rest, getting it shields back to full power while the Hammerhead was in overwatch. John turned to see the faces of Cadets Leliana, and Varric were a bit pale with Leliana looking to be the sicker of the two, "Cadets are you alright?"

"Yes, just getting used to the twist and turns of… what do you call it, G's," Leliana stated while Varric nodded, the later still not used to the Hammerhead.

That did not stop Legion-VII from giving the cadets a lecture, "That is not a proper term for G Forces Leliana-Cadet. G-forces stand for gravitation forces, created by the mass of objects that they move towards or the thrust produced by an object. These G-forces can adversely change the effect of objects on or within the object of thrust through a dynamic motion, which shifts the center of gravity. To the point it-"

Before Legion-VII could continue the lecture, Velanna stopped him as she pointed at something off into the distance. The girl, who served in enough high-speed battles since Torfan to the point she disliked them, and was too pumped-up with adrenaline to let her guard down noticed a ship approaching, "We've got incoming at thirty degrees mark sixty."

The entire crew turned to see Velanna pointing past a small ridge of rocks and another open field of dirt and lava at a small spec that seemed to be getting bigger. It was not long before Legion-VII increased the scanning radius and resolution to classify the ship as an old Salarian frigate modified by the darkspawn. "We need to move, Commander Shepard, we have an old Salarian frigate moving in. We need to make double time."

"Roger, moving out," Jane replied as she pushed the pedal to the medal to join John as they rushed towards the frigate.

They could definitely tell the frigate was of Salarian make with its long, aquatic, torpedo-like, streamlined body design with extra shields and speed being the first priority, while weapons and armor were secondary. Especially weapons, for even though it had a powerful main gun cannon that could outperform a Confederation frigate, it had fewer secondary armaments then average warships. It fitted the Salarian doctrine of first strike and rapid combat before they quickly moved onto the next target or they performed a tactical retreat against targets too powerful. Which meant that the Hammerhead and Mako had to get up close to have any chance of winning.

The two tanks moved at full speed toward the ridge area of rocky hills and small mountains. They made it in time just as the main cannon of the darkspawn frigate turned the field they were in into a crater filled with lava after a single shot. The two teams did not look back as they moved through the ridged valleys, using the rocks as cover as they approached the frigate that was floating in an open area close to the excavation site. A long stretch of land that had two pools of lava on each side as it flowed underneath the strip of land through underground tunnels and caverns.

It was difficult terrain that got more complicated as jumping out from the ship and landing on the ground was two snappers with heavy weapons resembling machine gun turrets. The brother and sister team stared at the edge before they decided, "Hey bro, since the Mako weapons are heavier, why don't I take the frigate while you take on our two friends on the ground."

John thought it over before agreeing, "Very well Commander. Aim for the ship's reactor. It should be unstable with the amount of radiation it pushes out, and I want this fight over with as quickly as possible."

"Agreed, I doubt even the Mako can survive a direct hit from the frigate's main cannon," Jane acknowledge before rushing towards the frigate with John following close behind Jane's tank.

It was not long before the Mako opened fire, aiming for the ships aft underside with its main cannon firing heavy shells and bullets. Slowly draining shields on the warship as it was trying to hit them with the few smaller weapons and point defense systems it had. Jane and her gunners expected the darkspawn to move the ship, but it refused for some reason. She soon found out why when two more snappers jumped off the ship and onto the ground. The darkspawn were unloading troops to block their way using heavy muscle and firepower.

Now with four snappers blocking the way they began to fire on the Mako, slowly draining its shields. The Mako refused to defend itself, as it concentrated on the old Salarian frigate. Meaning the darkspawn on the ground was unmolested until the two tanks performed the Hammerhead dash. A technique was the Hammerhead remained behind the slower, but more heavily shielded Mako until the Mako was close to the enemy units, aka the darkspawn, before making a sharp turn. The enemy units would continue firing on the Mako, which the darkspawn did, leaving the Hammerhead open to dash forward at full speed and attacked the enemy units.

The darkspawn were in disarray when the Hammerhead killed one snapper with a rocket to the head, while the tank's bullets shot up another. The other two fell to the ground, huddled in shells strong enough to take whatever punishment the Hammerhead could dish out as it passed the two survivors by. One made a mistake to assume safety when it stuck its head out of the shell to get it blown off with a missile aimed by Trex while the Hammerhead made another pass. Just as dozens of more darkspawn grunts jumped off to assist the snappers.

However, these darkspawns were poorly equipped as they were meant to build fortification, and were now there to the server as a distraction for the snappers. A plan that only worked in a sense since they were a threat to the Hammerhead, so John had his team focus firepower on them, whipping out large numbers while keeping an eye on the snapper in its shell. It was not long before the snapper got out of its shell and began firing at the Hammerhead, draining its shields faster than it did with the Mako. John tried to angle it to fire on the walking turtle, but it turned out to be intelligent as it turned its body to use its tough shell as a shield.

John then tried to get a clean shot, but the snapper was keeping pace in positioning its body away from any possible damage. Until John got clever and performed a faint, to make the darkspawn thinking he was going right. Only for a quick turbo boost to the left to aim for it is less armored underbelly. A single missile killed it as John turned his attention to the frigate to see more company was coming, in the form of another more massive than any he had seen.

It was an alpha/massive snapper; a beast considered a more terrifying version of the snappers John had already taken down. It was larger and tougher than a regular snapper, along with a more fiercely looking body and stronger shields. Combined with more darkspawn troops being dropped off and a heavy-duty snapper, it was going to make it a tough fight. The Hammerhead quickly engaged the darkspawn, firing into the beast's shields with missile and bullets. Causing it only to flash, but remain intact as it returned fire on the Hammerhead's weaken barriers.

Barriers that would break quickly, despite John's best efforts as a stream of bullets from the darkspawn made quick work of Hammerhead's shields. It was not as long before the weapons began to tear into the armor as one of the front engines caught fire during the evasive actions. Slowing down the tank as the massive snapper concentrated on the tank's primary hull. Due to the design of the bullets smashing the hull, an enormous amount of damage occurred as they made the armor more brittle with each hit. Until finally a few shells punctured large holes through the armor and flew into the cabin.

The crew ducked to avoid the powerful bullets, with their personal barriers taking glancing shots that could be lethal without battle armor. At least most of the time, as Velanna took a direct hit shell that had enough force to break through her shields and take a piece of her armor and the flesh off her right shoulder. She screamed loud enough it almost caused John to jump out of his seat as he avoided the darkspawn's killer aim. Blood was flowing from her flesh as she gritted her teeth in pain as her other hand covered her wound.

Still, she was not bleeding to the extent that everyone, even Legion and Trex were concerned, as Leliana asked, "Are you alright? Did you…" Leliana tailed off, not wanting to ask about one of the most dreaded aspects of war, surviving but losing limbs.

Leliana and everyone else's fears were unfounded as Velanna answered with a healing spell followed up with medi-gel to seal her wounds and applied omni-gel on top. The gel broke down the armored material into a goop that quickly hardened into a temporary battlefield repair to keep personal and vehicle armor operational before being fully repaired or replaced. "I am fine; it did not hit any bone or muscle. I just need to seal my wounds, and I'll be fine."

"Good, but it may prove pointless for I am unsure if we can survive," John commented as he tried his best to avoid another stream of bullets.

Bullets that could mean the end for the Hammerhead's weaken armor. The weakened armor would not be able to stop a lucky hit to the tank's hydrogen fuel cells or Mass Effect core resulting in a fiery explosive end to the tank. That is assuming it did not just fall apart from the many fractures appearing along the hull. A weakened hull combined with the increasing number of enemy troops from the frigate overhead seemed to seal the Hammerhead's fate. John was beginning to lose faith, as well as wondering what was taking Commander Jane Shepard so long in destroying the frigate overhead when there was a sudden explosion indicating a reactor going critical. The blast was soon followed by a massive shockwave that knocked not only the Hammerhead to the ground but all the darkspawn as well.

Even the massive snapper was on its knees when the Mako charged in with Jane yelling over the intercom, "Beep, Beep, asshole!"

It was at that precise moment Jane performed what some fighter would call a cheap ass move, while those that played a vehicle in video games or fought giants call it a valid strategy. For the Mako hit the massive darkspawn snapper with enough force to tumble it into the lava pool behind it. The massive snapper could not escape its doom as it shields quickly failed while its armor was being melted as it thrashed in the pool. It was not long before heat exhaust sapped its strength and it fell flat into the pools of lava roasting and burning the beast until nothing remained.

All that remained were the bloody smears of darkspawn as the Mako's cannon, and plasma laser beams along with the Hammerhead's machine gun did quick work of the small darkspawn. The field was cleared as John sighed in relief while Legion activated drones to tend to the Hammerhead's hull. Applying Omni-Gel to seal up the holes in the tank's armor to not only bring it back up into fighting shape but also resealing the vehicle to keep the passenger's exposure to the immense heat outside to a minimal. Something that even Legion felt like complaining about how hot it was, especially with its adverse effects to its CPU. It was not long before the now ugly Hammerhead was back in fighting shape, and its shields restored while the Mako rolled up to the floating Hammerhead's side as Jane gave her brother a heartfelt apology.

"Sorry it took so long big bro, but it appears the reactor on the ship was configured to increase the shield strength of the frigate, so it took longer to get its shields down. However, once the shield was weakened enough, it only took one hit to penetrate the armor around the reactor, as it appeared to weaken the structural integrity of the ship. It may be something to note for warships with heavier armor the darkspawn may have."

"Noted and sending that info to Cortana, assuming she has not figured it out for herself from the _Normandy_ before their attack. Which should be any minute now. In the meantime, let's use that information to destroy the darkspawns freighter and mop up any stragglers while staying on the move. I don't want to take the chance the darkspawn would begin orbital bombardment on us."

"Roger, heading on to our next target to take down," Jane replied before the Mako drove off followed by the Hammerhead with John wondering how long it would take for the _CSS Normandy_ to fully repair his frigate and how they are doing.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/ _CSS Normandy_**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

In high orbit, the _CSS Normandy_ was in stealth mode following behind the sizeable darkspawn fleet. The crew was performing passive scans so they could find a weakness in the enemy fleet while remaining undetected. The darkspawn fleet was made up of two former Human Alliance delta frigates, one Quarian ring frigate, a Salarian frigate, and at the center was an old Turian winged cruiser. Lieutenant Commander Pressly knew the cruiser was going to be the biggest problem as he pointed to the screen.

"We will need to take that ship out first for while Turian ships are average, if not less than average, performance in shields and speed, they have heavy armor and more weapons per weight class than any other similar class of ship. Allowing the ship to dish out a lot of firepower and take more of a pounding than most ships can handle. It is why the Turians are top dogs in the galaxy along with their large fleet and group targeting tactics of ganging up on individual warships."

"Could such a vessel survive a direct hit from the ship's Thanix Cannon?" Operations Chief Sarah Sinclair asked, and Pressly nodded yes.

"Even an older model cruiser may have enough armor to take two direct hits from weapons you see on ships like this and heavy cruisers, maybe three if it's lucky. That also assumes we follow the first shot with eight torpedoes and PPCs," Pressly commented, as he knew the recharge time of the current model was too slow to get the minimal second shot necessary to kill the ship.

"Maybe not, passive LADAR scans show the armor around the reactor is severely weakened. I am confident that the Thanix Cannon followed by a salvo of Plasma Torpedoes and PPCs will cause the ship to be destroyed," Cortana stated as she brought up an image.

"Are you sure?" Pressly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I am eighty percent… wait I am ninety percent sure," Cortana had corrected herself. "I got information from the ground team that Jane took down a Salarian frigate with one direct hit to the reactor. However, she did note that the higher reactor energy meant stronger shields. However, even when considering the amount of additional power, the shields will be receiving will not be enough to protect the ship."

"Alright, move us into position and prepare to the hit the warship from its underbelly Joker," Pressly ordered, and Lieutenant 2nd Class Jeff Moreau complied.

"Aye, aye sir," Joker saluted as he moved the _Normandy_ into position while taking note of the formation of the ships. A crazy idea began to pop into his head as he asked, "Hey Cortana, do you think we would have enough torpedoes to take down a shielded frigate along with an armored cruiser bird?"

"Possibly, we only need four plasma torpedoes and a PPC to kill the cruiser. We can use four disruptor torpedoes along with a barrage of plasma lasers to kill one of the frigates. Why do you ask?" The floating AI asked.

"Because I am thinking with my mad flying skills and your fingers over the weapons, I think we can take out two a-holes with one heavy stone," Joker explained to the AI, who was considering Joker's proposal.

"It's possible if you attack the cruiser and perform a tight turn while avoiding debris from the exploding cruiser and enemy fire, it is possible and less risky than fighting four enemy frigates at once over just three. Especially, if we take out one of the two old Human Alliance frigates, as they are dedicated warship killers."

"Well, whatever you do, I suggest you pick a course of action soon," Jordan pointed at the fleet slowly moving to a lower orbit. "I guess Captain Shepard, and SPECTRE Shepard are causing quite a ruckus down there, and from my limited experience with Council ships, the darkspawn are preparing to either land more troops, launch fighters, commence orbital bombardment or all of the above. While limiting the enemy's ability to intercept them during their plan of attack by flying in close formation and getting into a lower orbit. I don't think I need my limited military experience to say how much of a problem that will be for the ground team if we don't distract them."

Pressly only grunted in response to acknowledge the AI made a good point as he ordered Joker to get in close range to increase their chances. Once Joker acknowledges his order, he got onto the comm to get Lieutenant Commander Greg Adams. "Greg, this is Pressly, I need you to be ready to deactivate the cloak and stealth system and transfer all available power to weapons, shields, and engines. We're about to get into some hairy combat."

" _You got it, Pressly, preparing for battle when we are at the ready_ ," Greg replied over the comm.

Pressly nodded as he waited. Waited for Joker to get to close quarter combat (CQC) so PPCs would be at their most potent and enemy's point defense system would not have time to shoot down their torpedoes. Waited until the _CSS Normandy_ was facing the cruiser's underbelly, for the highest probability of them striking a killing blow. Waited for signs the enemy had no idea what was going to happen as the enemy warships prepared for a ground attack followed by an invasion when Pressly yelled, "Adams! Joker! Now!"

The effects were instantaneous, as Adam quickly deactivated the cloak and stealth system, lighting up enemy sensors to the _Normandy_ 's presence. While the _Normandy_ started its plan of attack before the enemy fleet could do anything to counter. The _Normandy_ started accelerating to high speeds as it fired on the Turian Cruiser with its Thanix cannon high-speed trail of molten slugs that were complemented by the plasma beams from its PPCs. The effect was devastating as the darkspawn's ship shields briefly flared before ultimately failing when the _Normandy_ unleashed four plasma torpedoes into its weaken armor around the reactor. The first two exploded to vaporize a portion of the hull while the next two exploded near the reactor.

The results caused a chain reaction of explosions engulfing the ship as the _Normandy_ turned to and avoided the debris. The heavy frigate then rode the shockwave as it accelerated towards the Human System Alliance frigate that resembles a nightmare version of Terra class Attack Frigate. The _Normandy_ wasted no time firing its four disruptors into the ship. Causing the warship's barriers to fail as the _Normandy_ flew by firing barrage of plasma lasers that burnt through the armor to hit vital system and fleshy targets before the crew could react. The smaller frigate's lifeless husk soon fell towards the planet via shockwaves as the _Normandy_ moved away from the enemy ships as fast as it could.

The other three darkspawn frigates were briefly discombobulated before they reformed and gave chase to engage the Confederate heavy frigate at medium range. Fringing torpedoes and mass accelerated rounds that the _Normandy_ either avoided or shot down with it point defense system of plasma lasers. However, the combined frigate power overwhelmed the _Normandy_ 's barriers as they began to flare due to each hit. However, _Normandy_ 's shields held before it turned around to face the enemy ships. It fired its PPC and Thanix cannon onto the second delta shape frigate for an instant kill. The other two retaliated as they turned to a thirty-degree angle to fire their broadsides on the heavy frigate coming down their center.

The old quarian frigates were similar to Far Child in that they could unleash a heavy barrage onto enemy ships with weapons on its port and starboard side. The starboard side barriers of the _Normandy_ were extensively weakened when they finally collapsed, and four bullets hit the ship's hull. Three were absorbed by the armor for minimal damage, but one was able to do a considerable amount of damage near the engineering section as the crew not strapped in tumbled for a bit. Including Anders and Dr. Chakwas, as the good doctor was treating the head injury of a crewmember, who got his injury for not strapping into his seat properly during the first high turn. Luckily the crewmen's doctor with smart enough to prepare beforehand to prevent a repeat performance while Anders observer Chakwas treating her patient.

The doctor restarted work on treating her patient when the comms was activated, " _Medical emergency in engineering, lower deck! I'm wounded, and we got two more in need of immediate medical attention and movement to a safer location_. _Someone, please help us_."

"Anders, go through the AI Core and use the emergency hatch to head down to engineering. Get down and stabilize any wounded down there. If you need to, use your magic to help them in any way you deem acceptable. Once you are done healing their wounds, get them back up here for a checkup. I am counting on you to getting them back into shape."

"Got it," Anders half grumbled as he ran into the room behind the medical center.

The AI Core room with an emergency hatch was placed at that particular location for easy access for engineers and medical personnel. For engineers, so they could rush up to save the AI in case of battle damage leading to catastrophe. While the medics used it to head directly to engineering quickly in case of a medical emergency. For the area was the most accident-prone area due to the reactors, elemental zero core, multiple electrical systems, and heavy machinery that was the heart of the _Normandy,_ and a location a medic must run towards when aid was requested.

Or to a more specific location, the lower decks underneath the engineering deck used for maintenance since most of the ships wiring and pipes go through the area. While also being useful to medics, so they did not rush into an insulated engineering room that may be filled with radiation if the ship received enough damage. Though at the moment, it was just where Anders needed to be as he landed in the area to notice three crewmen. One had a broken leg due to a tumble down the stairs, but for the most part was in no danger. The other two were unconscious, and near a small crawl in the area about to collapse, both with severe electrical and burning wounds along their arms and legs.

It did not take a guess who made the call as the crewman with the broken leg pointed to his fellow servicemen, "Please help them! They were caught in the explosion that knocked me off my feet! They need to get out of there before it collapses!"

"Don't worry, I've got them," Anders assured the man before he rushed over to drag them to safety, starting with the girl he felt was cute.

He quickly got under her arms and dragged her to what he felt was safety before setting the pretty little thing down. It was then that he noticed a deep cut on the woman's face. A wound with some burns serious enough that if he only performs the necessary amount to stabilize her wounds, would leave a scar that would lessen her beauty. Therefore, he used his powers to heal her, by causing rapid cellar regeneration while keeping scar tissue from forming as he sealed the wound. The effect was a temporary seal of her injuries.

Satisfied with his work, he went to get the girl's male companion when the ship was rocked by another well-placed hit by one of the enemy frigates. The resulting rocking loosened several of the beams as they slammed down onto the servicemen that Anders did not pull away. The heavy beams crushed the man's ribs and chest, forcing him awake briefly before he slipped into an eternal sleep that Anders could do nothing to stop him from reaching.

He just stared in shock and guilt that he was so concerned about a pretty girl he just let a man die when he could have saved him. He could not look away until the man with broken legs yelled at him to save the girl beside him. He turned to see the girl was on her side from what appeared to be a small fall. That combined with her previous injuries to not only reopen a few of her wounds on her arms but also send her into shock. Anders quickly went to work stabilizing the servicemen before healing her wounds again. This time due to reopening her injuries and the amount of effort Anders had to put in to stop the bleeding and save her ensured she would have scars.

He then went to heal the second with the broken leg when four others arrive, including the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Greg Adams to perform repairs. Two of the lower rank officers were getting to work to repair some cables connected to vital systems and sensors throughout the _Normandy_. As they worked, Adams turned to help the servicemen with an injured leg as he asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know what happened, I remember an explosion that knocked me off the rail and I saw Alice and Scott fall down. Then the mage arrived, and he was able to pull Alice out and stabilize her from the wounds she received. Then before he could get Scott out, we were hit again, causing a beam to shear and land on Scott, killing him. He just stabilized Alice again when you finally arrived."

Adams looked to see it was as the servicemen said as he looked at Anders. Who was, after treating Alice, starting at Scott's cooling corpse that technicians could not yet move as they went to work. Realizing the man must be feeling guilty about not being able to save Scott, he put on a reassuring smile as he put a hand on his shoulder to bring him back to the now. "Hey, are you're alright?" Adams asked the shaken mage.

"I've could have saved him," Anders quietly stammered as Greg Adams shook his head.

"Kid, you did all that you could to save them both, but bad timing prevented you from saving them both. At least go with the knowledge that you tried to save them both, and you saved Alice."

Anders did not have the heart or courage to correct Greg Adams on what really happened. It was too late for that as now the only thing he could do was help the two surviving crewmen up towards the medical center and mend their wounds so they could get back on their feet in a few days, if not a week. All he could do was silently nod as he helped get the two injured servicemen out of the way and towards the elevator towards the medic bay. They would be back for the body after the battle was over.

Meanwhile, the _Normandy_ was making headway in the battle as it sent a barrage of torpedoes and was able to destroy the Quarian frigate, leaving only the Salarian frigate left in the fight. However, that proved to be a problem as the ship was very fast and agile, able to keep out of the _Normandy_ 's more powerful weapons, and was able to move further away slowly from CQC. After all, the frigate was designed to run away when combat was not in its favor, and it was doing an infuriating good job at it.

"Dammit," Joker yelled as the Salarian frigate avoided another torpedo lock, "We can't get a lock."

"And it's moving too erratically to get a clean show firing blind," Cortana added before her ship's sensors picked up the salarian firing four of its torpedoes. "Incoming!"

Joker wasted no time in giving the modified mines a wide breadth as they exploded next to the Normandy. Causing the recharged shields to flare again as everyone tumbled while a nearby console exploded in a crewman's face due to overcharge of the ship's energy systems via shields. The servicemen tumbled out of his chair as Jordan rushed to help him while everyone else got their bearing. Including a pissed off Pressly that yelled, "We need to get that ship before it does any more damage!"

"I may have a solution for that," the Salarian Jordan stated as he applied medi-gel to the crewmen's wounds. "I recognized the frigate as an older model retired due to a deficiency when going at high speed. The ship's thrusters would produce enough energy to drain a ship's kinetic barriers around the engines. I believe a barrage of particle plasma lasers would be enough to disable the ship's engines even if eighty-percent miss their targets."

"But it could leave us vulnerable for the darkspawn to turn around and hit us with its mass accelerator cannons before we can react. Causing a lot of damage across our hull," Cortana added as she calculated the best firing arcs for both a port and starboard side barrage.

Pressly decided to listen to the Salarian's suggestion as he gave the order, "Do it!"

"Joker, port side!" Cortana yelled as the pilot followed her directions as he gave a hard turn to the right.

Allowing the _Normandy_ to fire all its plasma lasers at the Salarian frigate as it made a left turn, unknowingly towards danger. Cortana's aim was true as she scored a 30% direct hit on the nimble craft, burning out the ship's engines and taking out its maneuverability. For the vessel could still turn, but it could not change direction as the Normandy moved in for the kill. The Salarian frigate turned to face the Confederation heavy frigate to make a last stand but was unable to turn fast enough to fire a single shot before the eight torpedoes slammed into the ship, vaporizing it in a massive explosion.

The crew sighed in relief as Jordan got the wounded crewman to his feet and helped him to sickbay. Pressly watched with a nod of acknowledgment before ordering Cortana to inform the ground forces they now controlled the space of the planet. Cortana gave a sort of sassy salute before following her orders.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Near the Landing Site**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

Down on the planet's surface, the M-44B Hammerhead and M-35B Mako were moving past the freighter they destroyed as they came near an excavation site. The crew dismounted from the vehicles and made their way by foot up the canyon, with Garrus Vakarian with his M-97 Viper, and Ashely with her Black Widow taking point. Both high-powered sniper rifles with Ashely being the more powerful per shot, though Garrus was matching with him performing a double-tap faster than Ashely could fire a single round. The two quickly took out the few darkspawn guards without a fuss as they silently moved through the field.

That was until the entrance of the mine and the downed survey ship. The survey ship was more in the line of a small frigate with limited armaments, such as Spirit class frigates, the smaller original version of the _Normandy_ Specter class Heavy Frigate. Except, the survey ship appeared to be more based off Asari frigates with its more artistic design, and cylinder-shaped hull and a single engine at the back of the ship's hull common to Asari class of ships. They were the perfect vessel for survey ships to enter an area and escape from pirates if need be. However, it was grounded now and swarming with darkspawn, including a massive shielded ogre with a mighty war-axe and an enormous shotgun.

A daunting task that Captain John Shepard had the foresight to prepare for when he ordered each tank to carry M-530 Hydra Missiles with enough ammunition for three cluster missiles attacks. John ordered Tali to send her omni-tool generated drone into the air to perform a scan with its sensors to identified targets for the linked missile launchers. Data was quickly relayed to the targeting sensors as Jane and John took off the missile launchers strapped to their back and took aim with their missile launchers. Their fingers ready to push down triggers of their heavy weapons to start the first real battle to rescue an asari princess. (Note as continued in the next chapter).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, done with the chapter, sorry it took so long, but classes were harder than suspected and could not finish this chapter until the next one started. Not to mention with the space battle taking far longer than expected to complete, I apologize for the long delay. I hope that I will be able to publish chapters at a faster rate soon while also planning to put story-writing progression on my Portfolio. Until then, please review and tell me what you think of the Salarian and Turian ship design overall. Do you agree with the view that Salarian ships are first strike ships that depend on speed to survive while Turian ships are heavy hitters and the RPG tank version of ships? Do you visualize them as something else? Whatever you think, please leave a review to express your opinion.  
> A) Story Recommendation:  
> 1) RyoshiMorino's Code Geass: Roar of the Rebellion is an exciting story of what would happen if Zoids were being built by the Ashford family which Lelouch use for his rebellion. It is exciting and not as one-sided as most Code Geass fanfics are.  
> 2) fanwriter 10101 is another author to recommend for his anime and sci-fi stories that seem to be well thought out and executed, so please read and enjoy, especially his The Untold Prophesy and The Untouchables both Naruto lead stories.  
> B) Modified Codex on Confederation Alliance of Worlds to better explained the name. Felt I had to when I watched a youtube video on Naming Your Interstellar Empire by The Templin Institue. Also did a few grammar and spelling edits on several of them as well.  
> C) In addition, have gone back to check grammar and spelling with a new program called Grammarly, tell me what you think, do you see an improvement or not.


	10. Asari Archeologist Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, that honor belongs to Bioware. And dishonorably EA, the company that kills companies and that treat their workers as disposable cogs that are forced to work overtime and are not paid for it. Readers, do not buy from EA if you can help it, especially their sports games.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 12/11/2018

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/ _Shiagur's Wrath_**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

Deep within the mountain of the volcanic world of Therum lay a corvette that had deactivated all its vital systems, except life support; systems that jammed enemy sensors, and only sent minimal power to the ship's sensors. Everything that its single occupant needed to watch the space battle end in favor of what was in his mind, a human ship. For he could not will himself to think the Confederation as anything but a human-led organization with the other species, including his own, the mighty krogans, being nothing more than puppets of the humans. It always angered him that instead of rebuilding their once all-powerful Krogan Empire with the partial cure the humans provided, they became a member state of the Confederation.

That is why he took a deal for the promise of a full cure as he sent his report through a secure communication link to describe the situation to his benefactor. "As you can see Saren, the situation is very dire. The entire fleet that is meant to keep intruders away has been destroyed by the damn human warship. And I've lost a large number of my ground troops to the humans and their pet pyjaks."

" _I see, and you were not able to get Lira T'Soni out before the Confederation arrived because of why, Tradrak_?" Saren asked with a deep growl of frustration.

The green shelled krogan growled before he laid blame where it belonged, "It was the darkspawn's fault. They locked us out of the laser drill the archeologist brought with them to excavate the site as well as damaged the interface. Those beasts are barely more intelligent than the trained pyjaks we shot back at home. I am having the darkspawn dig their way through, but the old Prothean buggers sure built their shit to last. It will take at least four more days to get to her. And I doubt they will last more than a few hours against those two humans. If there is anything I should be blamed for, it is not taking into account how stupid the darkspawn were when I had them do the heavy lifting."

Saren grunted in acceptance before asking, " _That is unfortunate, is there any way that you can salvage the situation_?"

"If you send me a small fleet to send their ship running, and a few hundred reinforcements of those beasts to overrun them, yeah, I can do it easily," Tradrak stated with confidence. "If not, I will have to sacrifice some valuable assets to achieve your primary objective. After all, my ship can fit only a small number of people of a certain size, and I doubt anything else can escape the _Normandy's_ guns, even without the Shepard siblings on the ground."

Saren was quiet for a moment before he sighed in agreement, " _Do what must be done. I would rather you bring me Lira T'Soni back alive as she would be useful in keeping her mother inline if she ever gets second thoughts about helping me. Not to mention her expertise in Prothean technology would greatly aid in my plans. However, I cannot allow someone so knowledgeable to fall into the hands of the Confederation. Especially in either of the Shepards' hands as Lira T'Soni is one of the few that can speak the Protheans' language fluently, and fewer that have an inkling of their culture and the history before the Protheans. If that happens, she would greatly aid the two, especially Commander Jane Shepard. If you cannot bring her before me, kill her_."

"Do not worry, I will either get you the girl or kill her if it is the last thing I do. So long as you keep your end of the bargain of curing my people of the Genophage, so we will build a mighty army of krogans to conquer our enemies," Tradrak spoke with conviction as he emphasized 'ours.'

Saren then smiled, " _Don't worry, I am a turian of my world. And with your DNA, I will breed mighty krogan commanders that will conquer our enemies. I just hope you live to see those krogans command a legion of darkspawn to bring about a new order to the galaxy_ ," Saren added as he gave a slight nod to hide the smile as he imagined those commanders blowing Tradrak's head off before ending transmission, leaving the krogan alone with his thoughts.

Tradrak did not mention he already had everything in position before the call he made to Saren. He did not say he left the Asari unarmed frigate nearby the dig site. Hopping it was enticing enough to cause the squads to split up to investigate the ship with its nasty surprise, while the other went into the mine. He did not mention he depended on the humans to use their pet quarians or the quarians' rebellious creations to fix the drill to get to the asari. As well as he had outside his ship a contingent of his strongest darkspawn foot soldiers to attack from behind once the asari had been freed.

No, it was all part of a plan that he doubted anyone would see coming as he saw the Frist Battalion make their move as the contingent of darkspawn began to fall due to explosions and streams of bullets. Things were proceeding according to his plan, as he readied his bulky but deadly Graal Spike Thrower shotgun for battle. The fun was about to begin.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

Meanwhile, among the darkspawn that were on the ground in front of the dig site and the asari ship, huge explosions transpired as the soldiers led by John and Jane Shepard made themselves known. The M-560 Hydra Missile Launcher both Shepards' were equipped with were used to great effect, as a large number of the dark little buggers were blown up in a gruesome fashion as their flaming chunks flew everywhere. It did not hurt that the explosions caused by eight missiles split between the two Hydra Missile Launchers were very devastating on their own. As each missile was designed to explode in a set of three charges to take out kinetic barriers, armor, and then finally the target(s) itself with great effect, usually, as seen with the ogre on Eden Prime.

However, the heavily armored ogre had something going for it unlike the one on Eden Prime, meat shields. As most of the darkspawn foot soldiers in front of the ogre were hit by the missiles, some of the explosive force from the missiles hit the ogre. The explosion that reached the ogre, he survived but with burnt skin, no shields, and destroyed armor and weapons. Allowing Raik, Trex to kill it when he pulled out his ML-77 Missile Launchers to fire one of his 15 missiles. Popping its head and its chest like a balloon, leaving only limbs in its place.

The other surviving darkspawn did not last much longer. Thanks in part to the combined attacks from snipers such as Garrus Vakarian, Velanna O'Connell, Legion VII, Leliana, and Ashely Williams. Who took down any of the more powerful darkspawn before they could rally their troops. While those with assault rifles such as Urdnot, Wrex and Kaiden Alenko, along with Varric with his mass effect crossbow were laying on the pressure to the surviving horde. Wrex was doing the most damage with his Striker with its explosive ammo enhance with warp ammo that shredded its targets.

By the time Jane and John Shepard were done reloading the M-560 Hydra Missile Launders, the battle was over. All of the darkspawn were dead, leaving a quiet rocky field with nothing but the bloody remains at the entrance of the campsite that was in front of the mining silo. A metal door on the silo covered a dig site. John gave a silent ordered to Jane to scout out the area as he put up the M-560 Hydra in favor of his M-96 Mattock Assault Rifle. Jane complied, taking soldiers with shotguns such as Trex, Tali, Kaiden, and Wrex as she put up her missile launcher for her Disciple shotgun.

The four shotgun wielders slowly approach the field, prepared to set off traps or force any hidden darkspawn to appear. Such as any roguish goblins, grunts, shrieks or vrogs that are known for sneaking up onto others and ambushing their prey. The group did not have to wait long when Jane noticed something shimmering behind some crates sparking her decision to take a preemptive strike. Jane pulled out one of her cryo grenades to yell, "Grenade!" before throwing it to the shimmering individuals.

The grenade exploded to reveal the six hidden darkspawn with their shields weaken by the cryo-freeze that slowed their movements and broke their cloaks. Their shields collapsed from an electrical charge from Tali's omni-tool that overloaded the shields. The four opened fire on the small squad of darkspawn with Trex giving a satisfying explosion for each hit as they unloaded on the mutated freaks. It was not long before they were eliminated when Jane ordered a cease-fire. The group quickly complied much to Jane's satisfaction as she waited to see if that was the last of the darkspawn.

She waited for half a minute before she got on the communicator to state, "Clear."

It was not long for the rest of the ground forces to arrive with their appropriate weapons, anything that was not a sniper rifle, and they moved like a finely oiled machine, except for Leliana and Varric. The latter two were tailing with a less than stellar formation with their respective weapon ether too prepped for combat or not enough. That was expected for raw recruits that had little training in modern military tactics. Though it was something that Jane and John promised to themselves that they would fix soon. It was a relief that the turians trained their soldiers with enough discipline that Garrus could quickly comply with Confederation military discipline. As it meant one less trainee of what would soon be four cadets for the duo when the other two got out of sickbay. Though the brother and sister duo put it aside as Jane looked at the ship near the dig site, and the sealed entrance of mine turned to dig site.

"Hey bro, didn't the _Normandy_ 's life sensors state an asari life sign was found underground? I bet you that is where we can find our friendly archeologist," Jane commented as she looked at the dig site entrance.

"Assuming that she is still alive, that would be correct," John stated as he looked at the asari based scout ship. "Though even active sensors are having a hard time scanning what is happening inside the ship, so she could be in there. At the very least it would be something to explore to find out."

"So, let's split up with me looking at the dig site for an archeologist that is probably hiding among Prothean ruins. While you go through the ship to find the poor girl's diary and some dirt to appease your paranoia," Jane commented as a small smirk appears on her face as John's frown became hotter. It was entertaining to the crew, and those with a sense of humor chuckled. While others had a blank stare or those new like Tali had a face of horror if the others could see it.

John twitched in annoyance as he asked, "Must you phrase it that way Commander?"

"Oh Captain, my Captain, of course, I must when it's at your expense, and we need something to lighten the mood before going into a tough fight," Jane stated with a smile as John sighed in response.

John soon composed himself when he stated, "Commander Shepard, take the team you took in the bucket of bolts you call the Mako to see if you can find Doctor Liara T'Soni. While I take the team that I took from the Hammerhead to scout out the survey ship. Hopefully, we'll not have any difficulty finding the good daughter."

"Alright, let's go," Jane acknowledged before the two teams parted ways to their respective targets.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: Underground**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

From the surface to deep underground was a perfectly circular shaped tunnel made with lasers to be the most structurally safe structure it can be for miners. A thought process supported by the fused molten rock and metal circular support beams used in its structural integrity to make it safer to travel through. Something that Jane's team was thankful for as they slowly made their way down the slanted tunnel. Leading the descent was Jane Shepard with her M-15 Vindicator, and supported by Ashely Williams's M-99 Saber Rifle and Kaidan's N7 Valkyrie. The three were followed by Wrex and Tali with their shotguns and Garrus with his turian rapid fire Phaeston Assault Rifle instead of his usual long-range weapon best used in vast open areas.

Their weapons were hot as they were ready to fight the moment that they entered into a large cavern made by tools to extract minerals to be processed into useful materials for manufacturing. That was until the company came upon the top of a large grey oval-cylinder structure that was Prothean in nature, similar to those outside of the white towers on the Citadel. Like a lot of Prothean structures that survived, it was amazingly tough even when taking in account it was 50,000 years since it was last maintained. Tali was impressed with the structure as they walked across a catwalk towards the structures with burnt marks created by a mining laser.

"Amazing how it has been able to hold up. Most mining lasers are designed to vaporize even the densest rock in mere seconds. Until a few centuries ago, this level of material strength has been beyond replication in the galaxy. And even then, it was mainly used for military bunkers. Not cities on the Citadel like the Prothean were able to achieve," Tali commented as she rubbed her fingers over the burnt building as the little engineer in her bubbled over.

"It is impressive, considering the mining company seemed to have been trying to destroy evidence that it was here," Ashely pointed to the rocks before she pointed to the burnt marks across the sealed mechanical door and walls around it.

Apparent examples of a company's attempt to destroy it as burnt marks could be seen across the structure up to and above the catwalk. While below the catwalk, the structure was unblemished as the diggers carefully dug around the building to leave it undisturbed, "Yeah, I doubt a mining company excavating the site would let some old ruins get in the way of profits since it's against the law for a company to claim Prothean ruins. Too bad the building was too stubborn to let something like cooperate greed to bring it crashing down," Kaiden joked as he got a few chuckles from the group as Jane looked over the side of the catwalk.

She looked down at what appeared to be a 60m drop to the ground with the only safe way down was in two different elevators connected to a second floor 30m below. Jane hoped that the bottom cavern held the entrance into the building for it seemed like the only place for Lira to either hide or hold out for so long. Because, if the darkspawn had her, they would be heading to Saren's current location instead of staying on the planet. And if she was not captured, she had to be someplace the asari could hold out or hide from the darkspawn, aka the ruins. With that in mind, she was about to order everyone to the cavern below to hopefully find an accessible entrance to the ruins when she noticed the rock and dirt on the cavern's walls were moving.

It took her a moment for her brain to realize something was moving and digging through the dirt when she yelled, "Enemies!" before firing into the dirt and rocks.

It had no effect against the creatures as they continued burrowing through the dirt unimpeded as they moved quickly to their targets. The group heard a terrible screech as out popped what Jane swore was the ugliest creature she has ever seen, possibly of all time. The latest horror the darkspawn unleashed looked like snarling bleached tapeworms with milky white eyes that blended in with the color of their skin. A creepy beast, who's truly disgusting feature was its deafening screeching when it came out to attack. Along with its slimy three claw digit arms and legs that burst out of its body when it slid out of the ground. A disgusting beast that only got worst when one realized that organic guns popped out of their body like their limbs when they moved to attack.

A fact not lost on Jane, as she got a close and personal look at the darkspawn. As one of the ugly beasts jumped out in front of her before she used a telekinetic and wind-based attack to slam the darkspawn into the wall behind it. Its frail body burst on impact as the wall was covered in blood and fluids that smelled awful as she and her team reacted to the oncoming enemy combatants. Gunfire along with various other sounds of combat soon echoed in the cavern as the group started a fighting retreat.

Starting with Tali, who was away from the group, making a tactical retreat as she summoned a holographic attack drone and defense drone to cover her as she fired pot shots with her Arc Pistol and ran past Wrex. Who rushed into the fray with his biotic charge. Followed by a biotic nova blast that hit all the darkspawn with enough kinetic force to tear apart their fragile bodies. His initial attack killed many of them, but he too was forced to fall back as the surviving darskapwn was reinforced.

Wrex switched out his shotgun for his Striker Assault Rifle when he needed something with a more rapid-fire option as he blasted away at darkspawn reinforcements as he also slowly retreated. For even with a semi-automatic weapon, he would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers of darkspawn if he did not have a backup. Mainly with Kaidan and Jane's power attacks useful for a large number of enemies within an area. Such as a detonated biotic lift and cryofreeze, and elemental attacks such as fireballs and burst of winds. Though Ashely and Garrus were helpful with their suppressive fire keeping them at bay long enough for Tali and Wrex to retreat. Along with a few precise shots to take down any darkspawn that tried to flank them as they fell back temporarily to the carved-out tunnel.

The narrow gap and metal support gave them a perfect way to bottleneck the darkspawn as they kept trying to rush the well-organized team. This made Jane smile because she could not ask for a better team. That despite the short time with a new team that included a former mercenary turned politician, a non-Confederation member, and a rookie that is a new recruit. Jane could not be prouder of her team that in a fight that lasted minutes ended with a few spent rounds of thermal clips on the ground and forty of those worms like darkspawn dead. Leaving a smelling catwalk covered in goo that was their bodies and two survivors that decided to run instead of fight.

As they made a jump towards the walls before absorbing their limbs back in the body. Garrus was having none of that as he got out his sniper rifle and fired into one of the retreating creatures for a kill while the other was digging its way into the wall. It did not go far as Garrus ran out on the catwalk took aim and fired like an expert marksman. His success evident when out of the burrowed tunnel an organic gush popped out from the darkspawn's last position. The others looked in awe at Garrus with an impressed stare.

Tali squeaked out, "Nice shot," while Wrex quietly mumbles in annoyance on the turian being a good shot.

"I hope so, as I aim to please my allies, and displease my enemies," Garrus quipped, getting a few laughs and groans as he looked around. "Too much?"

"Maybe a little," Jane stated before looking at the keypad and press the ' _Up_ ' button. Nothing happened as Jane feared was right that they must have shut-off or disconnected the power necessary for the elevator. "Tali, can you Gerry-rig something to get the elevators to work."

"Possibly if I use one of my arc grenades to release a steady plus of electricity rather than an electrical explosive, just give me a few minutes," Tali mumbled shyly as she began to fumble with the controls and her specialized grenade she planned to convert into a power source.

All the while Jane stood beside the young quarian to watch her back and offer her limited assistance if need be while she filed a report on a new species of darkspawn now known as diggers. She was able to establish contact with the _Normandy_ after a coded request to ensure they could receive transmissions before she sent her analysis on the new darkspawn. She got a summary of what species the diggers were made from, and it made her grimace in response. The others were spread out in pairs to keep guard and talk to each other while they waited for Tali to finish her task. For Ashely Williams and Kaidan Alenko, it was a calming set of talks shared between two military officers that respected each other. The same could not be said for Urdnot, Wrex and Garrus Vakarian as the turians and krogans were not exactly friendly to each other.

Enemies most would say as Wrex threw the first verbal punch, "So, turian, how does it feel?"

"I beg your pardon?" Garrus asked.

"How does it feel that the good name of the turians is being dragged through the mud?" Wrex asked with a vicious grin despite Jane giving him a stare warning him not to push it.

One Wrex pretended not to see as Garrus gave the same turian indoctrinated answer, "Saren is a traitor and deserves what is going to happen to him, and I am all too happy to help in bringing him to justice."

"Ha, and here I was hoping that he would bring the turian name down," Wrex laughed. "But then again, your people unleashed a biological weapon on their previous savors and received no amount of punishment for it. You metallic birds can do no wrong in the Council's eyes, can you?"

Garrus growled in response, "Yeah, and the krogans are the epicenter of morality. Do I need to point out how the old Krogan Empire started the Krogan Rebellions by attacking and seizing worlds that did not belong to you despite being gifted worlds by the Council after the Rachni Wars? Or upon first contact, your people dropped meteors and nuclear weapons on our colonies to force us into submission despite not being part of the Council? Your people attacked us, and the Turians retaliated in the only way they saw would end the war quickly. Do I think we may have gone too far during and after the war in punishing your people and leaving them to rot on their dying and radioactive worlds… yea? But I also believe you didn't leave our people with many options outside of Genophage during the war. Unless you think exterminating the krogans was the right way to go as your Empire refused to even negotiate peace until it fractured into warring tribes?"

Wrex glared as Garrus stared back, never backing down as he continued as Jane readied her power to intervene if it gets ugly, "Do I think the turians are perfect, by the spirits no. We as a people made too many mistakes in the past as to how we treated the krogans after winning the war, leaving the quarians to die instead of taking refugees, and ignored our treaty with the Humans when the darkspawn first arrived. All under the name of turian pride, a guise to hide all those actions were done due to anger or greed. So yes, I acknowledge the fact we are not perfect. Just as I also acknowledge that the krogans had every chance to survive if they did not continue the fighting ninety years after being infected and refusing to unite for survival after the war. In fact, if it weren't for the Humans holding your hands while giving you the Genofertilization, your people would still be doomed to extinction."

The two stared at each other, not noticing the others nervously looked at the two with Tali actually shaking. The young quarian was so afraid she would be caught in a fight between the two that she worked at a faster rate to get the elevator working before they traded blows. Blows Jane hoped to avoid as the young human approached them. All in the efforts of gaining their attention when she got between them so she could talk the two down while Ashely and Kadan moved to back her up to subdue the two if necessary.

"Okay, that is enough. I suggest you two back down before you two cause an incident. Especially since Wrex seems to have forgotten that even though he is on hiatus as part of his test for the leadership, he is still the highest-ranking official of the Krogans and should act like it," Jane growled as she stared at Wrex while Ashely and Kaiden twitched as they readied to break up a fight.

A fight that could happen if Wrex did not respond with a chuckle as he backed down, "Don't worry Commander, I am not going to start anything. Not after that performance."

"What?" Jane asked as Wrex laughed at her and Garrus's bewilderment.

"The kid has balls, and if he ever gets that stick out of his ass, I think I may grow to like him," Wrex smirked before he got serious. "He not only admitted some of his people's actions were wrong, but he called out what my people did in the war. Combined with his conviction, I think I can work with the naïve bird."

"Thanks, I guess. But what do you mean by naïve?" Garrus asked with a frown. "I have dealt with murders, politics, and corruption. I am not naïve."

Wrex faced then morph into a serious expression, "Oh, but you are if you think that the only reason the krogans changed was because of the Genofertilization made by the Humans was one to rebuild our society. No, they just rekindled the fires of hope that are in every krogan. And with that fire, we rebuild our society with help. It certainly went better than the first time around, though I didn't have to deal with the more idiotic members of our race due to them dying out."

Wrex then stretched his neck in annoyance as Jane asked, "Wait, you've tried to help unify your people before? I only heard about when you rallied the krogans during the war from mom's stories about grandma. He said how it was a combination of krogans gaining hope for a future while we gained their respect."

"It's a long a story, and I don't think we have time to tell it all now," Wrex grumbled as he scratched his chin. "All I can say is that trying to convince a lot of idiots to breed for one generation was going nowhere when too many of the more powerful clans were advocating on continuing the war we did not have the numbers to fight."

Everyone sighed in relief, hoping for peace when Garrus asked with a raised scaly equivalent of an eyebrow, "So as the humans say it, are we cool?"

"So long as you prove your competence and do something the Council refused to do but the humans, quarian and geth did. Earn our respect," Wrex stated as he stretched his neck. "To fight with us and become allies instead of tools of war to fight enemies you could not beat on your own."

"Well then, let's hope for a better relationship overall," Garrus stated as Wrex laughed, just as a ding of the elevator arriving sounded.

Everyone turned to a flustered Tali that was mumbling about how of course that it would now arrive once the danger was over as Jane directed everyone in. Kaidan and Ashely Williams being the last in as Kaiden stating, "Hm, Trex is going to go ballistic when he hears about him missing a little bit of lore on Wrex, his role model and hero."

"Well as Grandpa Williams always says, 'you can't miss something if no one tells you, you missed it,'" Ashely quoted as she got in the elevator as Wrex turned in mild shock.

"Wait are you the granddaughter of General Alexander Williams?" Wrex asked as Ashely tensed to the question. Her tensed hum was all the answer he needed as Wrex chuckled, "Well what do you know, I get to work with all my superiors from the war's grandchildren and children. I am starting to feel old."

"Tali, take us down," Jane groaned as the group descended deep into the cavern below.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: _SSV Seeker of Knowledge_**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

At the entrance of the survey ship, identified as the _Seeker of Knowledge_ , John Shepard's team approached the vessel equipped with weapons suited for close quarters combat (CQC). John forgoes his M-96 Mattock Assault Rifle in favor of his N7 Eagle and M-12 Lotus, while Velanna used an N7 Eagle. All three equipped with power amplifier modes as part of their loadouts to give the users' powers and abilities an added boost. The two took point as they opened the door into the large hanger bay that was once meant to carry off Prothean artifacts. Now it was a dark room covered in tribal shrines, flesh, and blood.

Leliana gasped in shock as she kept a firm hand on her C-5 Carnifex, "By the Maker, what happened in here?"

"Preliminary visual scans indicate the area was converted into a shrine for the darkspawn, Cadet-Leliana," Legion-VII answered as it scanned with his Geth Assault rifle. "A few military programs within this unit noted previous encounters suggest the shrines are similar to one's set up around darkspawn nests."

"Nests? You mean the darkspawn has a broodmother on this ship?" John asked in anger at another mission complication as he scanned the bay with his guns while Legion-VII gave John its answer.

"Probability of at least one brood mother, eighty percent," Legion-VII reported before its sensor picked up movement as it inferred sensors detected multiple small objects. "Correction, the probability of broodmother is ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine-seven-five present. Young darkspawn-units closing in."

If anyone every though young darkspawn would look cute, they were sadly mistaken. In many ways, they were like mini versions of their adult forms, except more grub-like as they were in the process of growing. They were cuter than adults, but still ugly beasts that made the ground team want to shot them up, and they did without hesitation. Dozens were beginning to litter the floor as they moved in mass against John's team, without caring how many would die to accomplish their goals. In part, due to the aggressive nature of the darkspawn, but it is also because of their implants. Making it so they would follow orders regardless of cost, and they were given one order in this case, defend the ship and their nest. The intruders were currently trapped as the hanger bay door closed on them from behind, locking them in with a small horde.

John realized they would be overwhelmed if they stayed as he saw darkspawn reinforcements coming from the backend of the ship. Mostly darkspawn that have not matured, but he also spotted a few adult darkspawn. Ones considered elite in the horde as they had shields and were able to respond with various tech, mage, and biotic-based abilities. Legion-VII and Trex found that out the hard way when they were both hit by the sabotage ability of the horde. Causing their weapon to prematurely overheat and temporarily become inoperable. Forcing Legion-VII to use its Geth SMG to repay the darkspawn with a few bullets and incineration from its tech-based omni-tool attack. While Trex, their usual point man, was forced back after he spent two inferno grenades to clear out a portion of the darkspawn. Though he was still dangerous as he used his one shot, one kill per clip bulky Punisher Pistol to take out targets.

John was happy he studied the large room before the battle as it allowed him to think of a way to complete the two objectives of escape and gathering information about Liara without looking away from the horde. For the first objective, he saw a way to complete it by going up two decks through the two ladders and lifting the ladders behind them. If the ship was like most common designs, it should be the location of the ship's bridge, officer and VIP crew quarters, medical bay, docking door, and other facilities not seen in on the lower decks. It should also provide a way to achieve the first objective of escape through a pressurized door used when the ship needed to dock with a space station or another vessel, as well as serve as another emergency exit for crashed ships. As well as a way to complete the second objective of researching Liara's whereabouts as it was one of the best places to access data and records from the ship's computer core, along with a high probability that one of the rooms would be assigned to Dr. Liara T'Soni.

Seeing what needed to be done, he barked out his orders, "O'Connell, Legion-VII, Leliana, and Varric, fall back to the lift and give covering fire for Trex and me as your lift moves to the upper deck. Trex move to the ladder on the left, I'll take the one on the right. Once the lift is going up, we are going to race up the ladder, and all of us are going to escape to the bridge. Clear?"

The experience soldiers sent an acknowledging click through the comms while Leliana and Varric copied when they realized he did not want them to yell their acknowledgment. Another thing John planned to add to their training, assuming they survived, as the team moved into position. Trex and Shepard were the last two to make it to their destinations as they provided cover while the others rushed to the lift used to lift heavy cargo up to the ship's labs. Once they were settled, the lift raised up as they turned to unleash suppressive fire, or in the case of Velanna, area base spells that made their targets sleep or choke on toxic fumes. A temporary measure to allow time to escape without worrying about horde attack.

The overall plan made by John worked out well until a new surprise appeared. Tentacles with cybernetic implants popped out of Jefferies Tubes connected to engineering like an old sci-fi villain out to assimilate them. John ignored the comment of Legion-VII stating how they now had confirmed information of the presence of broodmothers as he ran up the ladder while two of the cybernetic tentacles began to slither up the ladders toward them. John knew the tentacles would catch them before they could reach the top so he came up with a desperate plan that he hoped would prove beneficial in the long run.

John yelled out, "Trex! Toxic grenades on my command!" as he pulled out a polonium grenade. A grenade that was perfect for a renegade like him and Trex.

The krogan complied as his mask barely hid his excitement as he pulled out his polonium grenade even if part of him wondered why John asked him to wait. He soon got his answer when the tentacles began to crawl all over the two and John grabbed it with his free hand. He then yelled, "Now!" as the arm holding the rails went across to drop a grenade before activating his omni-blade to cut off the top of the tentacle.

John was holding firmly as the tentacles retracted from them when he heard a loud screech of pain as the radioactive grenades detonated. The effects caused the darkspawn to fall back for a moment as the micro-fusion explosion negatively affected the organic and inorganic material of the darkspawn mother. They used it to their advantage and rushed up the ladder towards their companions and made a mad dash for the door that led to the rest of the ship.

They escaped in time as the broodmother rapidly regrew her tentacles before it made a dash to catch John's team. And it would have ensnared them if the door was not closed and sealed by the team. The group collectively sighed in relief as John ordered Trex to boobytrap the door while Velanna helped him secure any small access tunnels with her vines. The two gladly complied with his orders as the team moved to what appeared to be the common room and command center for the ship. They had work to do as they searched for clues.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: Underground**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

Deep underground, Liara was trapped and had been that way for what seemed like an eternity to the young woman. As a forcefield of some kind was not only keeping her safe from those outside the old Prothean ruins, but it also had her entrapped and floating off the ground. She could not even check the time as she floated in a crucified pose for what felt like days, if not weeks for all she knew. Though how much time had passed did not matter as much as the fact she was hungry, tried, and very much afraid.

For outside the forcefield was a small gathering of darkspawn, making her grateful that what was keeping her held was keeping them out. She remembered when the Human System Alliance made their first appearance to the galaxy community, and their discoveries both old and new. She was so excited at the idea of studying a working Prothean data cache found on one of their worlds called Mars that she could not look away on the event that closed such dreams to her in the foreseeable future. For she knew everything changed galactically and personally when the news about the darkspawn invading Terra circulated through the galaxy. As she felt anger at the Council, she remembered the images of the untold horror of an endless horde of monsters that was shown in the news reports. And those images did not do them justice as she had even more of a reason to be afraid as she watched the monsters eat the others in front of her while giving her a hungry expression as they stared.

She could only hope she would die of starvation before they reached her as she felt a rescue was only going to happen in her fantasies. Though this one seemed more real when a bluish grenade landed in-between the group of darkspawn. She quickly realized it might be real when the biotic lift grenade exploded with a loud bang and the darkspawn were lifted off the ground and hung there. Until the Prothean barrier rippled when a frag grenade went off and denotated the dark energy. The combined force amplified the explosive potential enough to kill even shielded darkspawn. The few gunshots out from above followed by the dying screams of darkspawn was enough to tell her this may be real.

So once the fighting was over, Liara could not help but develop hope as she pleaded for help, "Hello!? Is anyone out there!? If you are real, can you help me!? Please!?"

Liara, half expected to wake up from a fevered dream, but she felt her heartbeat when she heard a powerful and distinct military voice, "Hang on, we are coming down."

The young archeologist then heard the pitter-patter of boots that she assumed were a military squad made their way down to her level. They were soon down, and she got to look at the squad leader. The leader was a human, a fact that made Liara's heart skip a beat as she saw the beautiful athletic woman with sun-kissed hair and a freckle face similar to hers.

"Are you real? Please, by the Goddess, tell me you are real and not my hunger making images again? I am trapped, and I need help," Liara pleaded as she stared into the human's brilliant green eyes with hope.

Commander Jane Shepard could not immediately help but guaranteed her they would get her free. "It's okay we will get you out of there. I promise," Jane reassured the young woman that looked to have just entered into adulthood. "Are you Doctor Liara T'Soni. And if you don't mind me asking, how did you get trapped here?"

"Um, yes, I am Doctor Liara T'Soni, I guess you heard of me," the young woman nervously answered as a bright purple blush formed on her face. "And, as for how I got trapped it was a bit embarrassing. I was part of an expedition in these Prothean ruins when the darkspawn appeared. Can you believe it? The darkspawn haven't been seen in nearly thirty years, and now they reappear here of all places."

"Yeah, sadly they are not just here. We believe a rogue turian SPECTRE named Saren is controlling them and used them to attack one of our colonies. They are now considered to be a galactic threat," Kaidan stated in a matter of fact manner that caused Liara to pale considerably.

"By the Goddess," Liara mumbled as her mind was going through the various apocalyptic scenarios before shaking it off. "Anyway, we all tried to run and fight back, but they overwhelmed my colleagues and killed them before they had a chance. I was faring better, but I knew we were going to be overrun if I stayed out in the open. Luckily, this facility still had power, and I activated the defensive systems since I knew the barriers would keep them out. Old military facilities, prisons, and other such facilities have capital ship grade barriers. Unfortunately, in my haste, I accidentally activated the old Prothean security functions in what I now find myself trapped in," Liara explained with a blush as she mentally berated herself for a self-proclaimed Prothean Expert misreading the warning text on the screen.

Though that did not matter to Jane all that much as she looked over the young maiden and around the area, hoping to see an opening, "Okay that explains that, but how are we going to get you out of there? Even with the missile launcher attached to my back, I don't think we have enough firepower to blast our way in?"

"You could use the mining laser at the campsite behind you," Liara explained. "We used it to excavate the dig site, and scans showed there was a chamber under our feet. We only went as far as the first opening to keep the ruins intact as much as possible. The laser should still be there, just inoperable with a code that locks out the user. If you can get it working again, you can get in here and access the console behind me to deactivate the security measures and barriers."

"Tali, do what repairs you can and override the system, we're going to use it to bust our way in," Jane ordered Tali, who nodded esthetically in response.

"Will do ma'am," the young quarian saluted before she jumped down to the campsite behind them to get to work on the laser as Jane turned to Kaidan and Ashely.

"Ash, Kaidan, you two go with her and guard her in case we missed any straggling darkspawn."

The two saluted with Ashely stating, "Aye, aye, Skipper."

The two were heading out when Liara cautioned them, "Be careful, there was a krogan here a while ago. I think he was leading the darkspawn."

"A krogan leading them? Are you sure?" Jane asked as Wrex mumbled about traitors.

"Yeah, he was barking orders, and the darkspawn were following his every order. Though I think he was just a hired gun. His armor and weapons were customized in ways that looked like he was an experienced mercenary instead of someone in special forces," Liara explained in a way that made the group raise some eyebrows.

"You seem to know a bit about mercenaries and such," Garrus stated with an accusing look that Liara responded too.

"I am an archeologist that excavate Prothean technology and art that is quite valuable on both the open and black market. That means I have to deal with all manner of people in a professional sense. And in some cases, I have to dispatch them for they hope to claim what I dig up after they have killed me."

Jane realized the good doctor may not be as innocent as she looked as she saw in Liara's eyes that she had killed before. And not just a one and done a deal, but possibly groups of people. This meant she could approach the girl without a few layers of the kid gloves she planned to handle her with. "Okay, we will try to get you out soon, but before I go, I have one question. Have you been in recent contact with Benezia or any associates of hers?"

"My mother? No, I haven't even talked to her for years and usually avoid her followers if I can. Why are you asking that… by the Goddess, did something happen to my mother? Did this Saren kill her?" Liara asked with wide eyes, fearing she would hear that her mother was dead.

In reality, the asari should have wished it was a report of death when Jane explained the situation, "No, but we have evidence she is collaborating with Saren, and we wanted to question you about Benezia among other things?"

"What?! Mother helping Saren in his attack? But she condemns violence. The fact she participated in an attack does not sound like her. Is that why…?" Liara mumbled in shock before she trailed off as she formed her own conclusion why members of the Confederation wanted to meet her. "Is that why you were looking for me? You think I know something? Well, I am sorry to tell you this, but the last time I spoke to my mother face to face was half a century ago. So please believe me when I say this, I know nothing about my mother's whereabouts or actions, and that I am nothing like her."

Jane stared into the woman's eyes before stating, "I believe you," before giving the woman apparently older than her a smile as the woman sighed in relief. "Now I should go. Stay tight, and we'll get you out of there."

"Okay… thank you," Liara replied with a bewildered look as the three soldiers moved to Tali's location as Garrus made conversation that was familiar.

"So, how does it feel to have one of your own betray you?"

Wrex grunted before delivering his response, "That it will be fixed soon. For anyone, that fights against us is either stupid or just interested in money. Killing the later is just business. Killing the former is a favor to the galaxy."

Garrus chuckled a bit before pointing out this basic fact, "That still doesn't answer my question,"

"Shut it," Wrex grumbled as the three made their way to the laser drill.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: _SSV Seeker of Knowledge_**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

As Jane's team was arming the mining laser, John's team was busy in the survey ship starting with the command center that was more like a common room. It was designed as a social center for the crew before the darkspawn tore through it. The crew had made a valiant last stand if the blood stains and dents from gunfire were any indications. No one questioned what happened to the bodies as they moved through the control center as Trex and Velanna finished their jobs. With Trex's doing most of the work by converting his grenades into proximity mines that placed above the door and four inert stick grenades strategically along the hallway. Enough explosive power to cause the corridor to collapse and kill anyone that dared to break through the door that Velanna ensured was the only possible entrance with her vines.

Meanwhile, Legion-VII was busy hacking into the computer system to gain full access and lock out the darkspawn from the system as well as locate the crew quarters. John considered it fortunate that Liara decided to live in one of the labs located on this deck as Varric retrieved Lira's stuff. The dwarf returned with the few things she brought outside of the artifacts she was studying. Mostly a bag filled with rations and clothing washed and unwashed, as well a personal datapad the dwarf handed over to John.

John wasted no time getting into the datapad to read through the notes, expecting some kind of information on Saren's faction or self-incriminating evidence that points to a conspiracy. However, he was disappointed as Lira did not seem to have much of a life outside of her archaeological field. As it seemed all she talked about was archeological pieces she discovered and theorizing what they meant or if the pieces changed their understanding of Protheans' culture. John almost twitched at her more optimistic and whimsical nature to point it hurt his mind before he uploaded a VI program to quickly search through the audios and notes to look for key phrases like Benezia, Saren, Reapers, and EST.

Eventually, he got an audio recording and notes that gave him a picture that fits with Jane's view of the woman. Namely, Liara had nothing to do with Saren or Benezia for Liara had not talked to her mother in the last fifty years. Apparently, Benezia was hoping her daughter would follow her mother into politics or become an Asari Commando due to her unusually high skill and power in biotics at such a 'young' age. Benezia felt archaeology was beneath Liara's talents, and the two fought about it until they became so estranged that they no longer spoke. The only contact the two had was mostly Liara sending messages to her employers and others on her contact list to tell them where her excavation sites were, expected return dates to her home, and what she planned to do when she returned. So, they could report her missing if she disappeared out in the Traverse.

He spoke the last parts out loud as Trex returned from securing the hallway to state, "At least we now know how Saren was able to find her. Her mother must have relayed the information to retrieve her wayward child."

"Or maybe he was spying on her," Leliana suggested. "I mean we don't know why Benezia would work with Saren. It could be forced compliance, and Liara is just one more piece to use against her."

"Yeah, I can see that. I have a brother named Bartrand that is a total ass. But I still love him and would do anything to keep him safe," Varric stated while Velanna nodded enthusiastically in the background.

"Eh, I have siblings I would rather bash their brains in for stupider things than this, but I guess that is the krogan in me, so to each his own," Trex shrugged as John turned his attention to Legion-VII.

"What about the ship logs. Anything to indicate they were in contact with Saren or Benezia? The ship was out in this cluster during the attack on Eden Prime," John pointed out as Legion-VII gave an affirmative no.

"No Shepard-Captain. The ship transmission has not been erased or altered since its been in civilian service, and the ship logs reveal no conspiracy. The only mention of darkspawn was when they broke into the ship and began slaughtering the crew. With the finale entry stating that the captain hoped the archeologist at the dig site deep managed to escape."

"Damn, Commander Shepard was right. I am never going to hear the end of it especially if that is not Liara," John muttered as he looked at the tentacle as Velanna tentatively stepped up.

"Legion-VII, can you get us a visual of the broodmother? To see how many, a-an-and… and to see if Saren did anything to them different from those monsters that took me and my sister," Velanna asked with a shudder remembering the nightmares of what would have happened if the First Battalion during the Darkspawn War had not saved her and her sister.

Legion-VII complied as it pulled up functional cameras and ship sensors to get a visual image and scan for the darkspawn and the broodmother, confirming they were in engineering. It was not long before a holographic screen popped up, and the group was shown the nightmare that would last for years in the team's memories. Near the Element Zero core, dilithium crystals and exposed reactor flopped one massive, grotesque beast seen only in Lovecraft's dreams. A slug-like creature with a top portion that looked somewhat like a humanoid woman with multiple breasts but with little resemblance to their previous form. For she was a broodmother, and the Confederation had a standing policy to kill any encountered-on sight, for they were able to give birth to hundreds if not thousands of darkspawn per year.

It was equal parts disgusting and horrifying made worst when Leliana pulled up her omni-tool to provide an unaltered picture of a broodmother that outlined its codex. Specifically, due to the close resemblance to the asari with their characteristic tentacled crown head but with her disconfigured head so ugly no one except the darkspawn would love it. Killing and raping women to turn them into broodmothers seemed to be the only goals of darkspawn. That tidbit made Varric glad he lived above ground before he had been transported to the magical world known as space. While Leliana could still feel the chill down her spine whenever she remembered her study on the darkspawn as a Confederation cadet and wondered why the Maker created such vile creatures.

It was debatable what was worse of what Saren's faction has done, converting people into broodmothers or the altercations of broodmothers themselves. For in addition to the darkspawn transforming the poor women they capture into something else, the broodmother went through another transformation. For one, the asari broodmother looked healthier and less pudgy then the darkspawn image, most likely to make her even more productive in birthing an army. The second, she was converted into a full-on cyborg with various inorganic and organic implants.

"The cybernetic implants of the broodmother units seemed to be designed to make it more docile, tougher, stronger and to possibly increase production of other darkspawn units. This was supported by the fact the organic unit appeared to have a ten percent greater size and mass compared to samples of other broodmother units euthanize on the human homeworld, and it appeared to have a significantly greater reproductive capacity as well. In addition, the unit did not appear to need to be eating consuming anything. Suggesting that Saren had circumvented the need for broodmothers to feed extensively for more efficient production."

"Explain," John ordered Legion-VII.

"As observed from samples before they were euthanized, broodmothers produced a specific subtype of darkspawn unit based on the converted species' DNA. For example, infected humans initially produced grunt units and goblin units, while infected krogans produced snapper-units. To be able to produce new units, darkspawn would kill all organics, including other darkspawn tribes to bring them back to the nest for the broodmother to consume. And if the broodmother consumed a unit it had never previously consumed or produced, the broodmother would assimilate the new DNA so she could begin production of the new type of unit. It is why the broodmother eats everything in sight for all darkspawn-units are run more by instinct than logic and would not selectively target units to ensure specific results.

"Saren-Enemy unit's collective found a way around the need for the mothers to constantly eat by using implants to make it less hungry and to inject the necessary DNA into the broodmother to produce new darkspawn units. Combined with engineering the broodmother to be exposed to element zero, dilithium crystals and high radiation without showing any signs of harm suggests two conclusions. One is that almost immediately after a broodmother unit is born, she can produce every kind of darkspawn or at least produce a high number of specific types if made into specialized production units based on the available amount of DNA. Second, assuming that Saren-Enemy has gone that far in changing broodmother units, then this unit can extrapolate that every darkspawn created will live to adulthood instead of the observed twenty to thirty percent mortality described from the human homeworld."

"Didn't the horde unleash on Terra-Earth… ugh, whatever you call your homeworld, overwhelm a continent and threaten the entire planet? So, you are saying this Saren will be able to create an army at least four times larger in the same amount of time?" Varric asked, a little scared for the planet he was born on while the others grimaced.

John's analytical mind was going through a dozen scenarios about the horde's growth, none of them good, as he studied the broodmother on the screen for a few more seconds before he activated his comm to send out a coded transmission requesting contact with the _Normandy_. He got a response quickly when he heard Pressly, " _Captain, its good to hear from you_."

"Good to hear from you too Lieutenant Commander Charles Pressly, I take it you have taken care of the darkspawn fleet in orbit."

" _Yes sir, but we suffered some casualties doing so. Five injured, one death_ ," Pressly reported with a dropped voice through the comm.

"I see," John stated coldly before switching subjects. "At least you destroyed the enemy fleet. Is the ship intact enough to pick up our ground vehicles?"

" _Yes sir, it is fully functional_ ," Pressly reported with renewed enthusiasm.

" _Though we may need a new paint job and repair work the next time we reach a friendly port of call. The darkspawn were not exactly willing to float there as we sent the little bastards to hell to dance with the devil_ ," Joker commented, revealing others were listening in to John.

"As long as the ship can pick us up, I don't care if it is painted pink with flaming unicorns on the side," John stated as he then went to a control panel to upload every scrap of data from the ship. "Cortana, I am sending you all the data we've collected on the survey ship. I am also sending you images and sensor data on a broodmother the darkspawn put on the ship, along with Legion-VII's observations. It looks like the darkspawn threat is worse then what we initially feared."

" _Data is uploaded, and I do agree with Legion-VII's assessment. Whoever is controlling the darkspawn has engineered the broodmothers to be able to mass produce the darkspawn at even higher rates than they do naturally. I think worst case scenarios did not account for this_ ," Cortana stated before switching subjects. " _Oh, by the way, Jane gave us a call earlier, she has encountered a new species of darkspawn dubbed digger. DNA samples suggest they were made from vorcha_."

"Those walking tapeworms with teeth found in the Terminus System? Oh, this is just getting better and better, can we exterminate these vermin and go home now?" Trex asked.

"In a minute, Cortana, I am sending another DNA sample that I took from the broodmother, can you confirm if the woman was Liara T'Soni or not?" John asked as he sent a scanned data of a tentacle that he had cut off earlier.

It did not take long for Cortana to analyze the data as she answered John's question, " _It is not T'Soni, just some poor asari that probably wished she had been killed_."

"Alright, Jane is probably going to retrieve Liara for it looks like she is alive," John stated as he stretched his neck in annoyance carried in his tone. "Have a shuttle on standby, ready to pick up Jane and her team at the dig site with a small number of troops to take Liara into protective custody."

" _You don't think she is connected to Saren in anyway outside of being related to one of his lieutenants_?" the noisy observer, Jordan, asked over the comm.

"Correct, it looks like a dead end. Though the asari could be useful to us by providing insight into one of Saren's closest allies mind," John mused as a small smile formed on his face. "Jordan, you may prove very useful yet. Can you develop a profile on the young asari, just to relieve any paranoid fears I have and have something to use if required?"

" _That I can do, easily_ ," Jordan answered as he began to type away at his omni-tool. " _With the data provided and my own files, I should have a profile for you by the time you return_."

"Good," John stated before he and his team turned their guns to the door from the cargo bay. It sounded as though the darkspawn were moving to break the door down, so John felt he needed to make this quick. "Okay, it is time to go. _Normandy_ , prepare for an orbital bombardment of this ship and destroy it once we are far enough away. Once done, extract us at the coordinates I am supplying. Our ground vehicles are there and need to be picked up. Once onboard, we'll be on standby if required to support Commander Shepard.

"Captain John Shepard out," John signed-off before ending transmission and turning to the others, telling them that it was time to go. They quickly made it to the ship's pressurize door that Legion-VII unlocked with its hacking skills. The group made it out just as Trex's mines and grenades went off, killing a number of darkspawn and sealing the room. It would be hours before the darkspawn could dig through, but they would not even get a fraction of that time. As John's team was far enough away for the _Normandy_ to safely destroy the ship.

The crew was treated to spectacular fireworks before they made the long way back to the M-44B Hammerhead and M-35B Mako, not noticing a small squad of darkspawn sneaking into the dig site.

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/Therum/Dig Site: Underground**

**Human Date: February 19, 2183**

Getting into the chamber, was easy for the First Battalion soldiers, once Tali worked her magic. It did take a while to jerry-rig the controls to allow omni-tool access and to hack the system. But once she accomplished her task, everything worked out perfectly, as the drill drilled into the lower chamber with the forcefield taken down through brute force. From there, it was a simple process of moving through the molten rock into the Prothean ruins, summoning an elevator, and then heading to the floor above. This led to Jane walking up to young asari from behind, followed by her team.

Liara turned her head, "Thank the goddess you came. Did you use the laser? I heard the rumble, so I assume you did."

"Yeah we used the laser, it was a brilliant light show," Wrex laughed at the flustered asari as Jane looked at the console.

"Which button should I press, Doctor T'Soni," Jane asked as Liara took a glance at the control, quickly memorizing the buttons.

"Press the red button on the bottom right that looks sort of like a four-legged animal with an extra line going up in the middle. That is Prothean for deactivation."

"You can read Prothean fluently Doctor T'Soni?" Jane asked in amazement as she looked at the young woman.

"I studied Protheans since I was a child. I can speak many different dialects fluently. And you can call me Liara, I think that you saved me made it so that we are at least on a first name basis," Liara stated with a small blush as she realized what she said and she was unintentionally flirting with the young military officer.

Liara never felt so embarrassed as Tali's visor hid an even brighter blush, while the others gave Jane a grin or a raised eyebrow when Commander Shepard gave an owlish look. Before her face morphed into a soft smile as she told Liara, "Only if you call me Jane, or Shepard," before she pressed the button Liara instructed her to push.

Almost immediately, the security barrier turned off, and Liara fell to the ground on her feet like a cat. It did not take a military genius to see that she must have been trained in some form of martial arts as she stretched her muscles while trying her best to clean her dirty scientific jumpsuit with a biotic pulse. She wanted to make herself somewhat presentable to her rescuers. She quickly turned like one of those nervous school girls from those old anime shows with a twiddle of her fingers to show her appreciation.

"I still can't believe the darkspawn went after me. Do you think Benezia is involved or is it something else?" Liara explained as Ashely threw out her ideas.

"Saren is after something called the Conduit, maybe he is hoping miss Prothean Expert can help him find it."

"The Conduit? But I don't know…" Liara started to explain she was unfamiliar with such a turn when she heard a rumble as the ground began to shake.

"What the hell was that?" both Ashely Williams and Kaiden Alenko asked at the same time.

"These ruins are no longer on stable grounds if they ever were. I think the activation of the laser drill may have triggered a seismic event that could destroy this whole place. We have to hurry, this whole place is probably caving in," Liara stated as she directed everyone to the elevator pad as she worked the console to lift them to the first floor.

Jane wasted no time to get on the comm. "To anyone on this transmission, this is Commander Jane Shepard, and we need an extraction!"

She soon got a reply with Joker's voice stating, "Aye, aye, Commander. Shuttle in route. ETA one minute."

"We need to go faster," Tali said with a bit of a frantic tone as the elevator rose up to the top floor.

The ground team with Liara was prepared to make a run out the door when it opened to reveal two pairs of alpha arachnoids, avians, goblins, grunts, and war dogs. Powerful darkspawn armed to the teeth and with powerful shields and armor led by a krogan that bounty alert indicated to be the krogan Tradrak. An extreme radical wanted for a list of crimes such as murder, extortion, and theft.

Tradrak smiled as he looked at the group to state, "Surrender or don't. This could be a fun," the krogan stated before his grin widened as he looked at the older krogan on the other side. "Really, really fun since I get to put down the pathetic old man that made our people soft."

Wrex made an intense growl as Jane's face turned into a scowl, "In case you haven't noticed, this place is about to fall apart!"

"Exhilarating isn't it," Tradrak smiled as he stepped forward. "So nice that you freed the doctor for us. Now hand her over to us."

"Whatever you want with me, I would rather not go with you," Liara stated as she scooted closer to Jane's side.

"She'll be coming with us, thanks," Jane stated as pulled out her shotgun, her crew taking it an indication to arm themselves as well while the krogan shook his head in response.

"Not an option, Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants." Tradrak then turned to the darkspawn behind him to bark his order. "Kill them, spare the asari if you can. If not, it doesn't matter."

"Just as your life doesn't!" Wrex yelled before he used a biotic charge to slam into Tradrak. Causing the younger krogan to stumble back as Wrex opened fire at point blank with his Graal Spike Throw shotgun to spread his shields.

Before he switched to a melee weapon that he rarely got to use, a biotic field mace that unfolds from a small cylinder shape strapped to his hip. Wrex began to pound away on the merch, knocking away his shotgun, before Tradrak finally regained enough of his sense to enter a berserk mode. Allowing him to ignore all wounds as he used the omni-blade to go on the offensive with Wrex while ranting out his motivation like an old villain. Wrex would have found the krogan's reasons and logic hilarious if it did not make him angry these idiots want to tear down progress for the nostalgia of an era that they have no idea what they were talking about.

The two krogans began to duke it out while the rest of the Confederation forces dealt with the darkspawn after Jane ordered Liara to get to cover. Garrus and Ashely stayed back to provide cover fire and attack from a distance as Kaidan and Tali provided support. Tali used her ever-reliable combat drones to keep enemy units distracted while using her tech powers to weaken them. While Kaidan used mostly biotic and gun combat to keep enemy units off balance, especially the two avians in the air and the two shrieks from cloaking. That left Jane to go on the offensive as she ensured Liara got to proper cover. At least the best cover she could find in a mostly open room that occasionally rumbled to remind them that they were on a time limit.

Jane rushed the two goblins, already weaken by Tali's attack, and sent a wave of lightning to short-out their shields. She then shoved the nozzle of her Disciple shotgun and pulled the trigger, causing the exposed head of one to explode like a firecracker. While Jane used her telekinetic powers to throw the other goblin into a grunt across the room. Both of which were taken down by the omni-tool run program that turned Ashely's precise M-99 Saber into a precise rapid-fire machine where every bullet hit its targets until she used up her gun's thermal clip. Ashely did a good job, as she moved to assist Garrus in taking down an arachnoid he slowed to a crawl with his cryo blast omni-tool attack as a second arachnoid rushed Jane.

This arachnoid equipped with dual shotguns had tech abilities as it hit Jane with the sabotage ability to cause her shotgun to overheat and jam. Jane cursed as she put up her shotgun to pull out her war axe and sword as she fired off an energy blast shape like an arrow at the approaching darkspawn. The blast of energy washed over the darkspawn's barriers before Jane performed a side roll to avoid the point-blank shotgun blasts. Her shields briefly flared from the mostly avoided point-blank attack as the arachnoid turned towards Jane to fire another shot when Tali proved while she was the best support for the squad.

Tali used the sabotage ability to jam and overheat the two shotguns in the arachnoid's hands with an added bonus. As a technical expert, she knew how to time it just right and cause feedback of one of its shotguns so it would explode in its hands. The resulting blast took out the darkspawn's barriers, and it stumbled allowing Jane to retaliate with a cone of cold that caused frost to slow the darkspawn to a crawl and weaken its armor. Jane wasted no time slamming her war axe down into the darkspawn's chest to break the armor while her sword pierced its heart for an instant kill.

Jane sighed in relief as she kicked the body off her sword and surveyed the battle, seeing the darkspawn mostly eliminated, thanks to excellent support and firepower. Especially in biotic attacks with the residual dark matter that the various omni-tool sensors picked up before it quickly dissipated. Jane assumed Kaidan went all out as she zeroed in on the two of the remaining targets. Only the single arachnoid remained visible before Garrus, in a fit of fatigue and frustration, he took care of it with a homing grenade that locked on the fast target. It exploded making it seem the rogue krogan Tradrak no longer had allies, as the group moved towards their main target that was getting a beating from Wrex's mace and biotic power punches.

One power punch backed with a powerful biotic throw was enough to lay the krogan out on the ground as Wrex was over the younger krogan in disgust. His hands gripping the mace tightly as he started a speech. "You know I got this weapon from a human friend during the darkspawn wars as he was afraid. The first time I used it on a fellow krogan was to kill my traitorous brother who murdered my friend. All because he justified an era of self-destruction that led to us nuking our planet, destroying our new given homes, a senseless war, and the Genophage. He would have liked you for thinking that we krogans are just muscle-bound chumps instead of the innovators that rebuilt our world with what've earned.

"I think it is only appropriate that you receive the same treatment I gave my brother in our last encounter. A skull crush to the head," Wrex stated as he raised his mace up as Tradrak stared defiantly before Wrex brought it down with enough force to shatter a human skull. Wrex then brought his mace up and down again, and again until all that left was the bloody caved-in face of Tradrak. Wrex gave a stratified smirk as he pressed a button that compressed the mace into pipe-like shape before he put it back up.

Jane smiled as she looked around, seeing the remains of the darkspawn until she noticed an addition one behind Wrex that he must have taken out after it attempted to sneak attack during his fight. It was a shriek, a long thin body darkspawn with cloaking ability that allowed it to quietly attack using terrible blades located at each wrist. Jane realized that the krogan must have brought in one cloaked before her mind posed a question. Was there only one shriek, or two to go with Tradrak disposition of using a pair of types like the other darkspawn?

She prepared for a surprise attack while looking for the clear flicker of cloak technology when she heard Garrus yell, "Commander! Behind you!"

Jane turned around to see a shriek behind her, ready to strike as Jane moved weapons to try and defend herself when something unexpected happened. A biotic pulse that took out the darkspawn's shield followed by a biotic throw that flung the lightly armored darkspawn away. Jane starred wide-eyed as she realized the biotic attack did not come from Kaidan or Wrex, but from Liara, who was out of cover. Jane did not know that during the fight, as she was focused, Liara got out of cover for she did not want to feel like a helpless damsel in distress. Therefore, she used her training to try to help in any way she could from cover as the battle progressed. Probably shaving a few vital minutes by helping the team break through the darkspawn's defenses quicker.

And now Liara was fully committed to helping as she lifted the shriek with her biotic powers to slam it down on the ground three times, killing it with blunt force brutality similar to that used by the krogan and with a look of determination. Definitely not a damsel that the team thought Liara was the young asari looked at the others nervously, expecting to be scolded for getting involved. She was pleasantly surprised when Jane gave her a thumbs up and stated, "Good job, and thank you."

Liara gave a shy appreciative smile that soon left as the rumbling began to get louder and the earth started to shake. The group realized that the place was beginning to collapse when Jane ordered everyone to move. The group rushed out of the Prothean ruins and onto the platform that was the first floor. With Jane in front until they reached the tunnel where she directed them all to ensure her team and Liara made it through before following behind them, yelling them to go faster. The group made it the entrance of the mining silo and out in the open to see the shuttle with a small squad of troops waiting.

They all jumped on board with Jane the last in before she ordered the pilot, the white and purple geth Avion-1971 to get them out of here after the door was sealed. The geth complied as the shuttle moved up and climbed off the ground as the dirt continued to shake. They were three minutes away when the whole place exploded and collapsed under the dormant volcano. Jane saw it in all its glory from a screen on the shuttle before she turned to a nervous Liara, giving her a small smile of reassurance as they approached the _Normandy_. Not realizing that Jane and her brother had found their finale recruit for their ground team's roster, as well as something more for the galaxy and Jane personally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I am done. I hope you enjoyed this action pack chapter and sorry for the month-long delay. The holidays caught up to me in a bad way, and I was stuck with a lot of busy work from my job that made time set for writing this out difficult. Especially with the dialogue between Wrex and Garrus being challenging to write without revealing too much too soon in the story. Hope you enjoy the chapter and feel somewhat fearful about what else the darkspawn horde will bring to the Mass Effect Universe. Also, I want to give a shout out to Leaf Ranger for being a constant reviewer and keeping me going, as well a goddragonking, Gianfransco Cembran, and Pteaset. Thank you for your support.  
> A) Modified a few Codexs under Government and Galactic Polices the Confederation Alliance of Worlds including Military Classification  
> B) Also, with the anonymous reviewer pointing out mistakes in older chapters, I am going through fixes with my beta reader, again. Why can't I leave this alone? Chapter progression of fixes will be mention on the portfolio page until completed.


	11. Sins of the Parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Dragon Age, but maybe that could change if EA the company killer kills Bioware. Maybe have its own reignited trilogy would do Mass Effect and Dragon Age some good.  
> Beta Reader: Albert  
> Last Update: 04/18/2019

**Artemis Tau/Knossos/** _**CSS Normandy** _ **/Deck 2**

**Human Date: February 20, 2183**

Within the Knossos system, the _CSS Normandy_ was limping along at FTL speeds out of the system and towards the Macedon system to use the Mass Relay to leave the cluster towards a safe harbor. During that transient flight, the majority of the crew was hard at work keeping the systems operational or performing minor repairs to keep the ship flying under her own power. The only exceptions were the medical personnel busy treating or stabilizing injured crewmembers. And the ground teams, who after a quick shower and a change of clothing, sat in the back of the ship on Deck 1. Ready for the debriefing that follows any preliminary report. Standard procedures after a mission, even if it included a civilian like Doctor Lira T'Soni and a SPECTRE, such as Jondum Bau.

It was an important meeting, but the fact did not stop Joker from voicing a dig at his commanding officers over the intercom. " _That was close Captain, Commander. Even with my excellent flying, Cortana's sage advice, Adam's impressive technical skills, and Pressly being Pressly, I don't think the_ Normandy _would have survived if we were not able to take out those two ships in a surprise attack or any more of their buddies showed up. So please keep these missions to a minimal. It is kind of difficult to escape from a planet without a ship. As well as breathing and flying through the emptiness of space_ ," Joker said the last two lines with an overly dramatic exuberance.

" _Joker_ ," Cortana sighed while holding back a small giggle from Joker's joke as she cut the transmission.

The majority seem to groan while their newest addition seemed to look confused, "Commander? Captain? Why is your pilot joking about all of us nearly getting killed?"

"Joker is just joking… it's his way of relieving stress, and he gets away with it because he is really good at his job," Jane in a vest uniform explained with a smile as she hung her uniform jacket behind her chair before setting down.

"I see, this must be a human thing or at least comrade thing among soldiers," Liara commented with some level of understanding mixed with her confusion. "I had minimal interactions with humans and just a handful of more times being around actual military forces."

"Well, welcome to the club, some of us have not interacted with the greater galactic community until very recently," Varric joked, leaving Liara to look even more confused as she murmured out "What?"

"Let's say we did not know about the greater galaxy until very recently," Leliana explained for her friend while furthering Liara's confusion.

Feeling they were getting off track, John, in his full-dress uniform, decided to reel them in, "I believe we are tangential from what we really need to discuss. Doctor Liara T'Soni, do you have any inkling why Saren would send a small invasion force after you?"

"I can't think of any reason why," Dr. T'Soni admitted as she shifted into deep thought. "Maybe because I am Benezia's daughter, but I haven't spoken to her in over fifty years. And while I am a Prothean Expert, I am not the only one, and far from the most reputable in the field due to my age."

"Your age? Our records stated you're a hundred-and-six years old. That is not young by most standards," Kaidan pointed out while Ashely nodded along.

"Yeah. I will be lucky if I look half as good when I reach your age," Ashely joke to hide her somewhat jealous thoughts at the older woman with a chest larger than her own, even if she had better legs due to years of service.

Not that Liara noticed as she focused on answering Kaidan's question, "While a hundred-and-six may seem like a long time for most species. To the asari, I am barely older than a child. They often use my age compared to some other asari archeologists in the field to waive off or discredit my work and theories that are already controversial."

"What theories are those?" Garrus asked as he moved forward to focus on the young woman.

"My theory is that life in the galaxy is built upon a cycle of extinction. Where a civilization would rise to a technological point, before they are extinguished to the point that almost nothing remains," Liara explained as Legion-VII developed a stiffer manner before it answered in its robotic clicked voice.

"This unit has heard of such theories on extranet with individual units would claim the Prothean-collective was one of many over the eons, with some of the units even suggesting the Prothean-collective did not build the Mass Transit Relays and instead just built upon them. Most units do not believe it though."

"That's because some of those theorists are just crack-pots that get their data wrong or predict the end is nigh for us all," Trex commented as he looked over the calm asari to determine if she was crazy or not.

Liara proved him wrong as she calmly explains herself, "That's true, and I will admit I have no real way to prove it. So little remains of the Prothean's civilization, and even less of those that came before it. If I were able to point to one thing or a few dozen things to prove it, it would be simple. But all I have is a hunch. A feeling built upon decades of studying ruins that when you look at them, you realize they are too few, too beaten up, too empty, and too clean to be something more than the ravages of time. Especially when you compared them to the well preserved and maintained Mass Relays and the Citadel, which existed when the Protheans existed."

When she put it like that, the group did realize it did sound odd as to what remnants survived the ravages of time and what did not. Too bad the Mass Relays and the Citadel are too valuable to take apart to find out why as Liara explained the biggest hole in her theory, "As for how the Protheans disappeared, I have no answer despite putting fifty years of my life in it to figure it out. I've read hundreds of theories, but none of the scientific ones quite fit.

"Especially when your account for the mostly intact Mass Relays and Citadel. Coupled with scarce and sporadic runs and data caches. Along with it being extremely rare to find DNA and fossil samples of species that may have existed at the time. Combined with a lack of evidence of even of rival empire or rogue AIs. It is as though something just wiped the galaxy clean of the Protheans without leaving a shred of evidence of how it happened."

Jane and John Shepard looked at each other, silently arguing with Jane's more expressive face and John's stone frown before Jane took the initiative to tell Liara what they knew, "That is because all evidence was destroyed, by the Reapers."

"The Reapers?" Liara asked with a communitive muttering. "I've never heard of the Reapers. Where did you come by this information?"

"That is because it is only recently acquired information made known to the Council and Confederation's governments," SPECTRE Jondum Bau explained. "When SPECTRE Jane Shepard interacted with a Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime, it downloaded what some speculate to be the final moments of the Prothean's civilization. Though some of our higher-ups do question how accurate the data is despite seeing the recording from the Fade Machine," Jondum added the last bit with a bitter afterthought to convey he did not like his superiors not taking a potential threat, however improbable, seriously.

"We are currently under the belief that the Reapers are some kind of weapon that destroys the Protheans, cleaned up their battlefields with them, and then returned to where they came from. And Saren is looking to reactivate them," Tali explained to Liara as she nervously rubbed her hands for speaking up.

"Amazing, if true then that can answer a lot of questions about the Protheans final moments," Liara mumble with excitement as she slowly rose up. "Commander, the asari have the ability to meld with others by a touch-based telepathic ability. If you give me permission, I could view the memories in detail and help you decipher them."

"Wait, we have a recording of the attack. Why do you need a meld to view it?" Garrus asked the Doctor.

"While it's true that I can view them that way, it is still a recording. From my study of Prothean communications, Beacons are not only able to transmit speech and images similar to how our transmitter can do, but they can also transmit thoughts, feelings, and intentions as well. Things that cannot be conveyed in a recording. With my knowledge of the Protheans built by over fifty years of experiences, I can probably interoperate the images better than anyone in this room. Though I will admit, without exact knowledge of Prothean culture to cipher the images, language, and emotions, it would be more of a guess in the dark due to our limited knowledge of Prothean culture."

"In other words, it will mean little difference if you examined the recording as oppose to melding with my sister," John stated as a matter of fact to the annoyance of Jane who did not like her brother deciding this for her. "No doctor, you will not meld with my XO. You will just have to use the images recorded to decipher the image."

"Of course, Captain," Liara bowed her head in understanding and nearly lost her balance in the process. "Uh… that felt dizzy."

"When was the last time you ate or slept. Doctor Chakwas should look you over," Kaidan stated.

"I'm fine, I just need some food and rest. Though if it makes you feel better, I will go see the doctor once this meeting is over," Liara T'Soni stated as she slowly set down back into her seat as Velanna gave her a soft smile.

"Don't worry, I will show you to the medical bay. It is time for my monthly checkup anyway," Velanna softly explained with a smile.

"I just have one more question for you before wrapping up this debrief," Captain John Shepard stated as he stared down the younger the girl. "Do you have any idea what this Conduit is and how is it tied to the Reapers?"

"I don't know, but I can speculate it could be a pathway to the Reapers. From words that we can translate it shows the Protheans are literal people. Therefore, it could be a locked Relay that leads to the Reapers' location, a pathway to a control panel that connects to the Reapers, or weapons that can stop them. I need more information to be sure," Liara explained.

John slowly nodded at Liara's response before he carried on the conversation, "Very well, now this leaves the question what to do with you."

"Captain, Commander, I would like to volunteer to help you," Liara T'Soni nervously said with a soft conviction. "I am an expert when it comes to Protheans, and I can help you uncover clues on the possible location of the Conduit."

"Not to mention her biotics could be useful in a fight," Wrex stated with an acknowledge grunt to the girl.

While Velanna added quietly, "And we will be able to keep an eye on her while protecting her better without unlawfully detaining her."

John began to think it over before turning to Jane, who silently conveyed that she was for it before John stated, "Welcome aboard the _Normandy_ , please check-in with Doctor Chakwas before you go to bed on this ship."

"Thank you, Captain. I will," Liara bowed again before Jane Shepard clapped once in excitement.

"Okay, anything else to discuss? Anything? Then everyone, dismissed," Jane ordered as the group slowly got up and dispersed when Operations Chief Sarah Sinclair spoke over the intercom.

" _Captain Shepard. Commander Shepard. SPECTRE Jondum Bau. Our preliminary reports have been sent to the Council and High Command. Grand Admiral Seven Hackett and the Councilors are on the other line, wishing to speak to you three_."

The three stared at each other with raised eyebrows before they turned to the QEC after John ordered Sarah to open a channel. She quickly complied, and four lifelike images of the people appeared in the room, including the old venerated veteran, Steven Hackett. A war hero that was beginning to show his age, but held firm as he stood there to represent the Confederation Alliance of Worlds (CAW).

"SPECTRE, Captain, Commander, we just got your report on your mission," the Asari Councilor Tevos started the conversation. "I see you were able to retrieve Doctor Liara T'Soni."

"At the cost of working Prothean technology and a structure," the Turian Councilor Sparatus snarled. "Was it really necessary to destroy something so valuable?"

Jane, with her jacket uniform slugged over her shoulder, narrowed her eyes as her inner snark responded to Sparatus's question, "Well I am sorry I could not save the Prothean ruins as I need to get the good doctor. And the mining laser was the only viable option." Jane then sighed as her more diplomatic paragon mindset took over to speak. "We did not know how unstable the ruins were. Nor did we know how many darkspawn remain on the planet. Or if reinforcements were on the way. The mining laser was the only thing immediately available to get Liara out, so I made a judgment call."

"No need to get defensive SPECTRE Shepard, you did the right thing as the mission takes precedence," the Salarian Councilor Valern nodded to the Commander. "And speaking of missions, I trust Doctor Liara T'Soni will be under guard and questioned for what she knows about Benezia and Saren."

"No to the second for she knows nothing. As for the first part, does her being brought onto our team count?" Jane asked the three Councilors and Fleet Admiral, who had various levels of concerns as Jane looked sheepish due to their superiors' looks.

"Are you sure that is wise to trust her? Her mother is on Saren's side after all," Tevos pointed out.

"Counselors, I can verify that she is not tied to Benezia," Jondum spoke up in defense of Jane and John's decision. "Records I pulled from STG, SPECTRE databanks, and her personal logs shows that it has been over fifty years since the two have talked to each other. Well before Saren was born or when the Council Races even knew of humanities' existence."

"Not to mention Saren sending out his forces to capture her, and failing that, killing her shows that Saren considered her a threat to be taken care of one way or another," Jane pointed out before John pointed out one thing.

"Plus, whatever Saren is after seems to be Prothean in nature. Having a Prothean expert could help us find what he is looking for and find it before he does."

The other Councilors slowly nodded in agreement while Grand Admiral Hackett gave his endorsement, "Good, it would be a shame to waste such talent due to paranoia. Especially in what appears to be a vital and dangerous mission." His rough, charismatic voice able to lift their spirits even as he broached a graver matter, "And speaking of dangers, we got the report on the broodmother you encountered Captain. Is your report accurate?"

"Yes sir," John answered his superior. "We can expect Saren to be able to produce at least four times the number of darkspawns seen during the Darkspawn War, likely more. Not to mention a larger percentage will likely be specialized or unique enemy units as well."

"That is very troubling. If Saren is given enough time, he may be able to overwhelm us with just sheer numbers," Sparatus commented to himself.

"We need to double our efforts with STG to see if we can track him down," Valern added with Hackett nodding in agreement.

"Along with CID agents wherever possible," Hackett explained. "Will keep you apprised if we find any new leagues with Saren and his forces."

"In the meantime, we'll be heading to the Citadel for repairs on our ship and our ground vehicles. They took a beating and need some serious repairs before I am comfortable going into any potential combat zone," John explained as the group nodded.

"Will have our space docking bay ready to perform the necessary repairs once you arrive," Hackett stated as the Councilors nodded in agreement.

"Come home safely, for we are counting on you," Tevos stated before ending the Council's transmission with Hackett soon cutting transmission after the Council.

Jondum then spoke up for the group, "Well that went better than expected. Hopefully, the Council will remain as cooperative as it has been. Commander, Captain, I'll be at the bridge if you need me."

The salarian then walk out of the room followed by the two humans when they came up to see Ashely in her dress uniform waiting for them. "Lieutenant Williams? This is a surprise."

"Captain, Skipper, can you spare time to talk for a moment?" Ashely asked them.

"Sure Ash, we can talk right now. What is it about?" Jane asked as Ashely nervously looked as Jondum kept walking, deciding it was not his place.

Once Commander Williams felt he was far enough away, she went onto what she wanted to discuss, "Sir, I wanted to ask if we should limit the areas Vakarian, Bau and T'Soni's can access of the ship's system. I don't feel it is the best of ideas given them as much freedom as we have been."

"Lieutenant, do not take me for a fool," John scoffed at the young woman. "They do not have access to the AI core or engineering, and Cortana is keeping track of their activities. They are not going to be able to cause trouble without us knowing."

"Besides, they are allies. We need to show them some level of trust," Jane gently spoke to placate the young woman.

"I am not sure I count the Council species as allies," Ashely practically snarled, much to the shock of the Sheppard twins, who had only seen her professional side. "They haven't been exactly reliable allies. More like someone that leaves you high and dry while making demands of those they consider below them."

"Okay… I sense a story with such an outburst. Care to explain?" Jane asked her subordinate gently.

Ashely Williams sighed before she straightened up, "You know who my grandfather is, don't you? If it wasn't in my file, you are sure to figure it out when I practically yelled it out loud in the caverns on Therum."

"Yes, General Alexander Williams, the Hero of Shanxi. The man who saved Shanxi from falling into the Turians' hands during the Human-Turian War," John answered.

"Then you also know my Grandfather was killed in the Darkspawn War because of the Council," Ashely bluntly stated. "When the darkspawn appeared on Earth, the Human System Alliance practically begged the Council for aid but were denied. They claimed it was an internal matter that we had to handle despite it being an extraterrestrial invasion. They violated the treaty they signed with us, and they were still demanding things from us."

Ashely Williams then bowed her head as she seethed with anger before adding, "But that was not the worst of it. During the Liberation of Earth that Grandpa-the General was leading, the Council thought it was a good idea to get involved by sending a spy ring to Earth. A spy ring that got captured by the darkspawn, resulting in a surge of new types of darkspawn, which led to higher casualties. One of which included the General, who was assassinated by a vrog darkspawn.

"That war taught every Williams that the Council cannot be trusted. They cannot keep their word. Nor can they resist butting into other people's problems after ignoring them at first. And if their track history of wars is any indication, they also have a habit of making it worse."

Jane was quiet in response as for the most part, she agreed. She did not like the Council and thought they were more of a hindrance, despite turnovers in recent history. The only reason she was willing to work with the Council was to avoid a war that would cost her friends and family, especially those under her command. It was a thought process her brother agreed with as he explained their genuine opinions and reasons.

"Williams, we don't trust the Council. It's a mess that is kept in power through its extremely potent policies, economics, and military might. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact the Council can ruin us economically or that they have the military strength to really hurt us, if not defeat us, I would say screw them. For goddamn sakes, just the Turians alone could beat us since they have a much larger fleet due to the mass number of frigates, and cruisers they had built for their various patrol fleets.

"And that is not including the fact they have one of the largest galactic populations with sixty to eighty percent ready to be called to fight for the Turians at any given notice. Not even the geth can match their numbers as much of their programs focus on analysis, manufacturing or maintaining systems, not combat. And they are one of three races with massive fleets, with the Asari being the most powerful of the three."

"Not to mention the Council has earned some goodwill by helping us deal with the Batarians and their backed pirate and slaver organizations. But we haven't fully forgiven them or forgotten what they've done to every member in the Confederation. That said, it does not mean we should paint them all with the same brush. The sins of the parents and ancestors should never be saddled on their children," Jane explained

Ashely seemed to develop a faraway look as she mumbled, "The sins of the father should not affect his children." She then straightened up to give them a standard salute, "I understand Skipper. Garrus seems like a nice guy, and I'll try to give Liara the benefit of the doubt."

With that, Ashely then walked away from her two commanders. Both of which stared at each other, before Jane stated, "What was that about? Did something happen between her and her father?"

"I don't know, and I don't have the patience to pry the information out of her at the moment. If she wants to talk to us, she will talk to us," John stated as he rubbed the back of his neck to relieve the stress he was feeling. "Let's go, I want to ensure everything is running smoothly before getting some food and heading to bed. Its been a long day."

"Why did you have to bring up food, I could use some chow right now," Jane grumbled, if not whine as she followed John as they took care of the few things required before they went to bed, preparing for the day to come.

**Artemis Tau/In Transit/** _**CSS Normandy** _ **/Deck 3**

**Human Date: February 21, 2183**

It was early the next morning, and Commander Jane Sheppard was out and about. She had a good ten hours of sleep when she got up and decided to head to sickbay for her standard greeting and to see if a certain archeologist was there. She was disappointed to find Liara was not there, but that did not stop her from giving them her usual welcome. "Good morning, Chakwas, Anders, Merrill, Sten."

"Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane, Jane…" Merrill repeated as she ran up and around the young Commander.

That was until Jane asked with a soft smile, "Yes Merrill?"

"Doctor Chakwas just gave me a clean bill of health, which is odd for I though bills are given to people to pay. So why would she give me a clean bill of health if she is not charging me? Anyway, the point is I'll be able to go on missions soon. Isn't that great?" Merrill asked while practically bouncing off the walls.

"Yes, that is good news, why don't you go and tell my brother," Jane recommended to the bubbling elf, who nodded esthetically in agreement.

"Will do Jane, going to do that now," Merrill babbled before she rushed out to the Captain's cabin, leaving an amused Chakwas.

"That was cruel of you Sheppard," Chakwas said with an amused smile as Jane responded with a patented shoulder shrug.

"And leaving me with a lot of paperwork he can do himself isn't? Besides, John said he will be writing one of those letters once he wakes up, he could use a distraction if Velanna is not giving him one already," Jane said in a more somber tone as she winced as John writing the notification of death letter.

Chakwas nodded somberly, "Yes, it is never an easy letter to write. I am just glad I only had to perform a none evasive autopsy on Servicemen Second Class Scott West. Though it is still never easy, the death of a comrade. Or at least, I hope it isn't for a commanding officer. I've seen too many needless casualties and deaths going through my med-bays due to carless commanders. Hopefully, casualties will not get much higher."

Jane did not voice the idea that she had a gut feeling that casualties are only going to get higher, and switched subjects, "So, outside of Merrill being able to escape the med-bay, how are the others doing."

"Sten is making a quick recovery, I think within two to three weeks, he should be able to move on his own. Though how long it takes him to recover during his rehab will determine how long it takes him to be out in the field," Dr. Chakwas explained to the Commander. "As for the crewmen injured during the battle, four out of five will make a quick recovery and return to the service within the week. The fifth, Servicemen Second Class Alice Crane is stable but will need to be transferred to a hospital to treat her more serious wounds. I suspect it'll be three months of recovery before she can return to service."

"And how is Anders working under you, Doctor?" Jane asked as she noticed Anders was sleeping by the side of one of the injured crewmen.

"Fine, but I don't think he is taking the death of one of the people he was attempting to save very well. I will have a talk to him if this persists," Doctor Chakwas stated as Jane gave a small smile.

"Good, and now for the other reason I am here, is Liara-um… Doctor T'Soni here?" Jane asked in a way that made the romantic in Chakwas smile predatorily at a scared Commander.

"No, she is not here at the moment. After doing a thorough examination, and giving her some much-needed food and medical shots to help her body recover quickly, I gave her a full bill of health and sent her on her way after assigning her a bunk for her to sleep in. She could be still there, but I supposed we can check," Chakwas stated with a smile before calling for Cortana. "Cortana, can you give me the location of Doctor Liara T'Soni?"

" _Doctor T'Soni is in the Science Lab on Deck Two_ ," Cortana responded over the comms.

"Thank you, Cortana," Chakwas acknowledge before turning to a nervous Commander Sheppard. "Well now you know so I suppose you will soon be trying to meet her. But before you go, can I ask why are you looking for her?"

"Oh, you know, just checking on our newest member. Making sure she's acclimating well with the crew," Jane quickly explained as she slowly became unnerved by the unrestricted attention given to her by the good doctor, making her blurt out things she rather keeps quiet about. "Also, she looks like she needs a friend, and someone to lay their body-head… um I mean, be there as someone to rely on."

"I see," Chakwas practically smiled like a spider to a fly. "I didn't realize you were suddenly attracted to the same gender. You did turn that one girl down because you told her you were straight."

"I am, normally, but the asari aren't exactly female, being a mono-gender species that is feminine by nature. And the asari Consort theorized it is because of that, that some asari are the exception to the rule to me, and I did like the cute geeky science types," Jane added before she realized she was flying directly into the web laid out to entrap her. Therefore, she did what any soldier would do when faced with a trap she could not beat, retreat.

"You know, I should go see Liara before she leaves. So, I should go," Jane added to end the conversation and practically ran out of the room with a smiling Chakwas staring at her with eyes filled with mischief before she went back to work. Gossip can wait, paperwork cannot as she let Jane retreat with a little of her dignity as she waited for the elevator that was in use.

**Artemis Tau/In Transit/** _**CSS Normandy** _ **/Deck 1**

**Human Date: February 21, 2183**

It was early in the morning as Captain John Sheppard sported a strained smile as Merrill left the captain's cabin with a small skip as he sighed in annoyance. He lamented on why Merrill could not show up five minutes later. By then he would be grateful for the distraction. Instead, she came in at an inconvenient time for his guest. So as the young elf skipped out the door, John promised he would get back at Jane as he turned to his naked bed to get his first guest of day to reveal herself, "She is gone, you can come out now."

There was momentary silence when Velanna slowly emerged with the bed sheets wrapped around her body, the only things she was wearing as she dared not put on any of her clothing while Merrill was there. Now that she was gone, she slowly slipped on her underwear as she kept movement to a minimal and the bedsheets wrapped around her body. She was too embarrassed to show any flesh, and John thought it was cute as he continued to stare at the self-conscious Velanna.

"C-can you not look… please?" Velanna asked with a stutter as she looked down to where John presumed her clothing was while poking her fingers together under her covers.

"You are cute when you're embarrassed, even if it is a surprise you can still get embarrassed. We are well past your first time," John bluntly stated causing Velanna to blush crimson before turning back to look at his console.

He ignored the sound of shuffling cloth as Velanna put on her clothing as he began writing the letter every commander hated writing, the notice of death. It was a difficult letter to write due to the fact you are either writing about how a friend died, trying to sound serene when someone you dislike was killed or writing about someone you did not know well enough to make their death seem worthwhile. Mr. West's was in the latter part, and John was having difficulty writing about him. He was making some progress due to having the previous experience of such letters after Torfan when most of his men were killed during that cluster fuck of a battle. He was getting past "We regret to inform you" when he heard a loud chime of someone asking to be let in. A welcome sound even as Velanna let out a squeak before disappearing behind his bed. John sighed in both annoyance and gratefulness as he pushed off writing the letter for now.

"Enter," John commanded as the opened door revealed Wrex's imposing figure in full battle armor as though he was a man on a mission.

A mission Wrex was going to explain when his powerful nose caught whiff of what he and Velanna did last night. He couldn't help himself but say, "Well someone seemed to have gotten some action. Too bad I have to interrupt your fun, but I figure I had better give you my temporary, if not permanent resignation sooner rather than later."

"Your leaving?" John asked in shock. "Why the hell are you leaving now? Especially, after all the trouble I had to go through just to have the privilege of you being assigned to my team. This better be a good reason after the heavy negotiating your Clan Council had to do to convince High Command to allow you near combat on this ship as a bloody mercenary. Or so help me, I'll give you a swift kick in your stubby tail so hard you fall into something foul. I don't care if you regain your title of Supreme Commander of the Krogans when I do it, I will do it."

"Oh, I have a very good personal reason for doing this, it's about an heirloom of my family," Wrex explained to Captain John Sheppard. "During the war that the galaxy calls the Krogan Rebellions, a lot of valuable artifacts of my people were taken by aliens on the ground as trophies of their victory. Most wound up in museums or private collections with a few being returned to the few surviving clans. This particular artifact is in the hands of a criminal ass known as Tonn Actus, a profiteer with a pension for selling narcotics on the black-market, extortion of goods, and helping the client connect with mercenary bands they wish to hire."

"And what is this heirloom that he has exactly?" John asked Wrex, who responded with a simple, yet complicated answer.

"Family armor. Or more specifically, one of the few, if only pieces of armor that still exists that my ancestors wore when they founded Clan Urdnot," Wrex explain with a pained expression on his face. "It is mostly useless ceremonial armor that makes your human's medieval knights armor look practical for modern combat. But it is a piece of my clan's history.

"And according to intelligence, this turian scum bought it off the black-market to hyphen his reputation by claiming his ancestor stole a valuable heirloom from the current head of the Krogan Clan Alliance. I cannot allow this ass to continue to use my clan's name to make himself famous. I need to retrieve my family armor and teach this idiot that you don't fuck with the krogans!" Wrex had roared before he added this line as though it was as an afterthought, "Plus, if I don't do something, then some stupid numb nut could try to politically use this to go after me, and that would not do."

"So, it is just like that," John sighed as he took a more thoughtful look. "What do you plan to do?"

"I plan to use what funds I save to hire a ship and a mercenary squad with an honorable reputation for going after the pyjak hiding out on Tuntau. A gassy ball of rock found in the Phoenix system located in the Argos Rho cluster. And according to my intelligence, he is planning to leave within thirty days, possibly less if he knows I am coming for him. He is not exactly in an armed facility as he is staying in one of those temporary building used for establishing colonies."

Now John knew that if he let Wrex go, he would no longer be his problem and would be a relief to his growing headache. However, he also could not ignore that if he helped Wrex, the krogan would owe him a favor that he could use down the line. With that in mind, he made his decision, "Don't bother with the hiring mercenaries and a ship, it would be a waste of money. We have assets that patrol that area regularly as the Argos Rho cluster is a major mining cluster with a few industrialized krogan colonies. I think there is even a small colony in the Phoenix system, Intai'sei, and a refurbish Citadel training base called Pinnacle Station. Let me make a call, and we can get transport to the system where we can take a stealth shuttlecraft to the planet and a small team to take care of it together."

"I appreciate it, Captain. I'll upload the specific quadrants of Tonn's last known locations. You have my thanks," Wrex bowed and was on the moving out when he stopped with a knowing smirk before stating, "Give Commander Velanna my regards, and tell her I hope to be there at her wedding when she is brave enough not to hide behind your bed."

Wrex laughed as Velanna let out a 'meep' from her hiding space. Wrex continued to laugh as he got on the elevator and headed for the lower decks. Once Velanna was sure the krogan was gone, Velanna appeared, fully dressed, and a made a dash to the service door to climb down the ladder to a secluded part of the ship, too embarrassed for words to be seen in public. The sight both annoyed and amused John as he got up to make a few calls and order a divert course to make a stop in the Argos Rho cluster. He had mentally decided the letter could wait. Especially when we saw whose ship was assigned near the cluster. It seems an impromptu reunion was in order.

**Artemis Tau/In Transit/** _**CSS Normandy** _ **/Deck 3**

**Human Date: February 21, 2183**

Deep in thought, Dr. Liara T'Soni was focusing on the recording she was told about yesterday. The young asari watched it frame by frame as she took extensive internal notes of what had occurred on her now fifth viewing. She had been analyzing the images for the last two hours since she got up this morning. As someone who claimed to be a Prothean Expert, she could not miss the chance to view the final hours of what was a vast empire. She was not disappointed and used her brilliant mind to notice discrepancies that were present before formulating her own conclusions. Conclusions with far-reaching consequences as she vocally noted them in her omni-tool.

She paused the image, looking at the world that seemed familiar but was too out of focus when she felt a small tap on her shoulder. The action made her jump up before she turned around to face the person that touched her. Liara's startled sky-blue eyes stared into those memorizing emerald eyes. Jane began to laugh as she tried to calm Liara down, "Sorry about that, I didn't think you would panic with such a small tap to the shoulder."

"No need to apologize, I was just distracted with my research on the recording you provided," Liara replied with her embarrassment plastered on her face.

It only got worst when Jane noticed Liara had also pulled up her CAW made codex made public for public relations and military geeks, "I see dusty old recording download in someone's mind is not the only thing researching. Do I have to worry about you being a fangirl or a scientist hope to dissect me to find how I tick," Jane joked as Liara hyperventilated as the young asari misread the mood.

"No, it is nothing like that! I mean, yes, I was interested in you when you rescued me that only grew with how well you treated me, but also the fact you had a Prothean recording in your mind. But I did not study your codex because of my own interest in you. I wanted to study it so I would not embarrass myself in front of you, which I appeared to fail at."

"Don't worry about it. It was just a joke," Jane quickly explained while holding back her own embarrassment as she repeated in her mind the lines 'she's interested in me.'

"Oh, by the goddess, this is so embarrassing. You must think I am such a fool," Liara commented as she nervously scratched her tentacles as she switched topics. "Is there something you need from me, Commander."

"I actually came to look for you to see how you are doing, but I see you are doing pretty well. Back to work?" Jane explained before asking her question.

"Doctor Chakwas proved to be a very skilled physician. Her knowledge of asari biology is impressive and her treatments last night were great," Liara explained before turning to the holographic console in front of her. "As for your other questions, yes. To be able to glimpse into the final moments of the Protheans was just too tempting for me not to ignore and I could not wait to study it."

"Did it live up to expectations?" Jane asked the young maiden, who nodded in response.

"In part, yes, as it gives a good answer in what happened to the Protheans, as well as give a crucial piece of evidence in my theory of galactic cycles for civilization," Liara pointed out to a startled Jane.

"You think these Reapers were responsible for the extinction of species in the previous cycles?"

"There is not enough evidence to say for sure if the Reapers were responsible for all of them one way or another," Liara admitted. "All I know for sure is that the Reapers did kill off the Protheans, but there is just little to no evidence the Protheans did not make them, or they existed before them. Just as there is no evidence that the Protheans made the Mass Relays, though it is a popular theory they did and they likely built the latest version of the Mass Relays.

"It could very well be proof that a civilization that reaches a tipping point that leads to destruction once they reach a technological or territorial limit, or fall due to sheer hubris!" Liara exclaimed before she adopted a more nervous and depressed poster. "It is just unfortunate that the recording is not usable as evidence."

"Why? What is wrong with it?" Commander Sheppard asked, and Dr. T'Soni gave a straight answer after pulling up several dozen close-up screenshots with her omni-tool.

"As you can see, the images are blurred just as I thought due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of Prothean culture. Without proper context, I cannot tell you with accuracy what they mean. Other than this planet is very important," Liara stated as she pulled out a planet covered in shadows before that squid-like ship appeared.

It was out of focus, just as Liara said but that was not all it had wrong with it as she pointed to fragmented portions of the image. "Which brings up the most concerning part, the data is fragmented. I think the Prothean Beacon you used on Eden Prime was damaged enough that certain data points such as coordinates to the planet may no longer exist in the recording. It also explains why it suddenly became active on its own and exploded. Too many users and organic minds near it in such a short time caused it to overload and explode."

"So, I don't have all of the data?" Jane asked, and Dr. T'Soni nodded in agreement.

"If you want to find what Saren is after before him, you will need to find an intact Beacon to get the data."

"This is good and bad," Jane stated, much to Liara confusion before Jane elaborated on her theory. "Saren tried to destroy the Beacon with explosives before he left. If he did not need them to destroy the Beacon, then he would have just destroyed it himself to be sure."

"Couldn't he damage it before he left?"

"It's possible, but something in my gut tells me that it was damaged before he got to it. Which means he is possibly on the lookout for another Beacon as well. Though, that may not matter all that much as we have no idea where we can find a Prothean Beacon."

"That is not entirely true. While the Protheans were spread out across the Galaxy, the majority of their holdings were in what we call the Attican Traverse and portions of the Terminus Systems. Moreover, large swaths of those clusters were left unclaimed, recently claimed, or on the fringes of claimed space. Meaning, if there is another Prothean Beacon, the territory he can find one is very limited," Liara explained as Jane got a very thoughtful look as she realized Eden Prime may have been more of a target of opportunity then a long thought out plan. Or at least a plan ready to activate if the Confederation found one.

Though Jane did not mention that as she asked, "How limited?"

"I can forward you a list what experts, including myself, agree there is a high probability of Prothean Artifacts that could have survived and likely left unexcavated. It includes a few hundred celestial bodies that have a high probability of artifacts and a few thousand with a slight possibility. But it is better than the billions known, not including asteroids," Liara admitted before handing Jane a list from one of the asari's personal data pads.

A quick look and sure enough, Jane saw Eden Prime was at the top of the list. "Very well, this can be useful to hopefully find a Prothean Beacon. As well as to find Saren himself when we narrow down the results further by crossing out worlds not claimed by major powers since he only succeeded on Eden Prime due to surprise and a security hole that he can no longer exploit." Jane then gave Liara a heartfelt thanks, "Thank you Liara, you've been more than helpful."

"I'm glad I could help," Liara smiled nervously. "I know you took a big risk taking me in since my mother is apparently working with Saren. I hope I can prove to you that I am not my mother and you can trust me."

"I trust you," Jane said with a moment's thought.

"Good, because I want to be close as you are an interesting subject to study," Liara explained, only realizing after she said those words. "Oh no, I did it again. I didn't mean that I want to study you like you're a lab specimen. Not that you aren't interesting and you have pretty eyes and… oh the goddess, why can't I shut up?" Liara asked herself while she buried her embarrassed face with her hands.

Jane, also with a tint of a blush, decided to end the conversation, "I think we've embarrassed each other enough, so I should go."

Liara only nodded in embarrassment while mumbling, "Of course, Commander."

Jane took it as her cue to walk away, and she was about a step out the door when Ensign Tali'Zorah nar Normandy ran into her. The young quarian stumble as she looked up to see she ran into her superior officer. Her face lit up in embarrassment as she wished she had her facemask up to hide it. The young quarian's arms flailing around as her apologies shot out faster than an automatic assault rifle, "Sorry Commander, I did not see you there. I didn't realize the time and had to run to make it to the Science Lab to use the most of the time I had. I don't get much time off and was able to get a couple of hours to study it, and I didn't want to waste any time."

"It's okay Tali, no need to apologize," Commander Jane Sheppard smiled before her brain caught on everything the young engineer said. "Though what could you need the labs to study? Don't you spend your off hours in engineering?"

Tali looked nervous, unsure what to say when she pulled into her suited armor an organic computer chip, making Jane realize the armor was not as skin tight as it appeared. It also took Jane a few more seconds to realized the computer chip was taken from a darkspawn corpse as she pulled out gloves that came with the uniform to examine the component up close. "Where did you get this?"

"During the last mission," Tali admitted. "I notice one of the darkspawns was not as dead as it first appeared, so while it was still alive, I hacked into the OS system to salvage a few pieces I cut out of it to study."

"Why would you do this?" Jane asked the young engineer, hoping she had a good explanation.

Tali, as fortune have it, did as she nervously replied, "Because of my father, Fleet Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Rayya of the Third Fleet requires that my Pilgrimage must be something special."

"Care to explain," Jane ordered, and Tali obediently followed her orders.

"Before the quarians ended their conflict peacefully with our geth creations and resettled our former homeworld and colonies, the majority lived in ships for three hundred years of exile with limited space and genetic diversity. To compensate, my people would go on a right of passage called the Pilgrimage to go out alone in the greater galaxy to find something of value to bring back to be accepted with their new crew. And while some traditions were disposed of, such as a Fleet Admiralty Board to oversee the Conclave Council. Others were remapped, such as the Pilgrimage still being a right of passage for adulthood.

"Usually, it is completed by one of three ways. Exploring the galaxy to find valuable resources to claim for the quarians. Develop new or upgrade current technology by ourselves or on a team. And finally, join the Confederation or a Defense Force for two to five years. With how things are going, I suspect I'll be able to drop the nar part of my name for vas by next year."

Tali then nervously rubbed her hands as she explained the problem, "That said, it may not be enough to live up to my father's reputation. My father is possibly one of the most famous quarians in recent history. Not only was he the first quarian to reach Admiral and Fleet Admiral of the Third Fleet in the Confederation Navy. But he was also a political force that shaped much of current Quarian politics, including the founding of the Confederation and peaceful relationships with the Geth. Despite the later forcing us off our own planet three hundred years ago when we tried to kill them all. As the eldest daughter, a lot of quarians expect great things from me, and I can't disappoint them or my father."

"So, you were hoping that studying darkspawn technology would help you live up to these expectations?" Jane asked, and Tali nodded yes.

"Whoever is equipping the darkspawn had some advanced technology. If I can reverse engineer it, not only would it be like completing two different paths for my pilgrimage, which is impressive, but also possibly save more lives. As reverse engineering their base technology could allow us to advance our base technology, as well as find a weakness we could exploit, at least in theory."

Jane thought it over for a moment before she made her decision, "Then we will help you. I will talk to my brother about allowing you to have unlimited access to a lab and help you collect samples in the field. Just be mindful of your workspace as Liara will be sharing the lab to do her own research," Jane explained before handing the component back to Tali, who pocketed it and rushed to give her a big hug.

"Thank you, thank you. You won't regret this," before the young qurian rushed in the lab.

The door closed behind an amused Jane and was thinking if she talked to her superior officer now or later when she received a call from her brother. Curious, Commander Jane Sheppard opened a line of communication, "What do you need John? I've got some paperwork to fill out, which you should know since you dumped a good chunk of it on me."

" _Commander_. _Something has come up recently, and I had to divert the ship's course to the Argos Rho cluster_ ," Captain John Sheppard explained over the comm. " _I need you to come up to my Cabin to discuss you being temporarily in command of the_ Normandy _as well as impromptu reunion we are about to have_."

"A reunion? What reunion? And why would I be temporarily in Command of the Normandy?"

" _I'll explain everything when you get up here. Let's just say I took advantage of a friend nearby, and I will need to be off the ship for an important VIP mission with Wrex_."

"Fine, there was something I needed to discuss with you anyway. No point in waiting to give each other more work. I'll be up there, Jane out," Jane ended transmission before she moved to the elevator to go to her brother's Cabin to discuss their next step. Jane had a feeling that the next couple of weeks will be frustrating, and yet rewarding at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay, but work burned me out and did not have as much free time to work on this chapter until recently. Hope to get back in my regular updates soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless and wonder how you like the character development and my opinion on Saren's attack on Eden Prime being more opportunistic and desperate in finding a Prothean Beacon. After all, Saren has been under the radar over the years after all and does not seem the type to risk exposure unless he deems it necessary.
> 
> Author Notes
> 
> A) Okay, I noticed Naruto the Elemental Star (ES) is getting little attention, so I plan to focus on Mass Dragon Effect (MDE). After Chapter 30 of ES, I will concentrate on releasing 3 more chapters of MDE. Before going to a 2 MDE to 1 ES chapter update with the exceptions of 2+ chapter parters getting priority. If fans of ES do not like it, sorry but if you do not review it, then I do not know if the story is doing well and will assume a loss of interest.  
> B) As for gameplay choices, if the player decides not to help Wrex, then he goes off on his own to complete his personal quest while completing the quest earns his loyalty. While not helping Tali would not affect her loyalty, the players to lose their chance to gain some minor upgrades to weapons, armor, and power cooldowns, while Tali receives no mention for upgrading the technology in MDE II.  
> C) Worked in making classes in Codex: Governments and Galactic Policies to make each class more unique and fixed grammar and spelling in Codex: Spoiler

**Author's Note:**

> Finally done with my longest chapter, I hope you enjoy and please review to give me your opinion. Also, hope you like how the two Shepards are different. Jane will be a fun loving, naive woman that is able to rally troops and acts like a paragon, while John is a brilliant tactician that is a cold, calculating person that acts like a renegade.  
> A) Codex is in a separate story for enjoyment. Please read it if you like the Mass Effect Codex for story changes, and if you have already read it, please note I made a few edits and additions including a new class of mech, like the Atlas Mark II.  
> B) Style Notes:  
> Lowercase species name (asari): species  
> Uppercase Species Name (Asari): Species Specific Government  
> "Quotes": Communication Face to Face  
> "Italic Quotes": Communication Done Through Non-Face to Face Transmission  
> 'Italic Quotes': Telepathic Communication


End file.
